Ruto’s Aides to be Summoned Over Ksh39 Billion Military Scandal

Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) to summoned seven officials from the Deputy President William Ruto’s office after detectives visit Harambee House Annex for the third time to pick extra CCTV footage.

The detectives spent the better part of Monday reviewing CCTV footage and interviewing staff and security personnel at the DP’s office, the scene of the crime for a mega scandal involving a Ksh39 billion fake military tender.

One of the foreigners at the centre scandal yesterday led the detectives to the office where he reconstructed his previous visit and identified some of the officials and offices where they met.

The DP through his Secretary of Communication David Mugonyi denied that he had an appointment with Echesa and his team, adding that he never stepped in his office at Harambee House Annex on the day when the former sports minister visited.

“The Deputy President was not at the office as he was working from his Karen one before he left to attend a funeral in Murang’a. On checking his diary, there was no such appointment,” Mugonyi said.

Image of Ex-Sports CS Rashid Echesa inspecting the equipment

Mugonyi added: “The Office of the Deputy President is a public office which by operation receives visitors and access to the premises is subject to strict security protocols that apply to government installations in that category. Anyone who accesses the ODP is duly documented and proper records of the particulars of all visits including CCTV footage taken.”

Ruto confirmed that the meeting took place saying that it had occurred for roughly 23 minutes.

He added that his office does not deal with procurement for any department of the state, dragged the Department of Defence (DoD) on the matter and called on the DCI to equally investigate its link to the scandal.

“ODP does NOT procure for any ministry/department. Question: other than 23min in Annex, for months, which government offices involved in the ‘tender’ did the scammers visit? Did they access DOD? Who facilitated? Who did they meet? Get the truth. Forget the sponsored NONSENSE in media,” Ruto said in a morning tweet yesterday.

Echesa and his co-accused; Daniel Otieno Omondi, Clifford Okoth Onyango and Kennedy Oyoo were arraigned at the Milimani Law Courts on Monday, where they denied the charges.

The four are face 12 counts, including obtaining money by false pretense, claiming they would facilitate a tender to supply military-grade equipment to the Kenya Defence Forces (KDF), by a company Pzels Co. Limited.

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