Be careful about the text messages you sent your friends especially if you’re trying to cover up something or hiding stuff. It could be used against you, someday.
Court documents have now revealed that a text message from the National Hospital Insurance Fund (NHIF) Chief Geoffrey Mwangi to the Chief Finance Director, Wilbert Kurgat has helped the police to press charges against the two for obstructing corruption investigations.
The Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) has today disclosed that it obtained a text from Mr. Mwangi directing Mr. Kurgat not to share any documents demanded by the investigators.
The prosecution yesterday said that the two denied officers access to documents such as payment vouchers and other books that were considered important to the investigation relating to payment of millions of shillings to Webtribe Ltd, a firm dealing in online payments.
“Further investigations revealed that on November 21, 2018 at 11: 46am and 11:47am, the first accused person sent a text message to the 2nd accused person directing him not to co-operate with the investigators and specifically not to give the investigators documents central to the investigations to wit payment vouchers for the Webtribe Company Limited,” said Investigating officer Arthur Onyango.
But why would one send such a text message especially when you know you are under investigation?
The investigations at NHIF started in September when police found that the transactions made were suspected to be fraudulent. After the investigations on September 25, detectives were granted court orders to search the NHIF offices and homes of 13 executives at NHIF.
Mr. Mwangi and Mr. Kurgat were later arrested on Friday over the corruption allegations and have been in police custody since. The two NHIF bosses were yesterday arraigned in court before Chief Magistrate Francis Andayi but failed to take plea as the two denied accusations of refusing to provide the said documents.
The accused through their lawyers argued that the investigators did not specify which documents they were meant to produce.
“Our main complaint is that the charge sheet is defective. Whether or not they were served with an order to avail certain documents, the charge is defective,” said Prof. Tom Ojienda, the accused’s lawyer.
The prosecution however refuted the claims and told the court that the two were both well aware of the court order to surrender payment vouchers.
