Businessman Ben Gethi,3 IEBC Officials Found Guilty Of Forging Sh107 Million Election Tender

NAIROBI,Kenya, Feb, 28 – Businessman Ben Gethi and Joyce Makena both directors of Solarmak technologies as well as three Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) officials: Kennedy Ochae ,Gabriel Mutunga and Willy Kamanga were found guilty of forging Sh107 million election tender documents and failure to comply with the law.

The company sought tenders to supply lanterns to the IEBC in 2013.

Appearing before anti-corruption magistrate Lawrence Mugambi, they were facing charges of colluding to change a tender document  and careless failure to the law relating to procurement , forgery and altering a false document.

Gethi infamously also featured in the National Youth Service 1 scandal.

Gethi and Makena were convicted of forgery involving tax compliance certificate issued by the assistant commissioner of the domestic tax department at Kenya Revenue Authority.

Mugambi said that the accused ploy to alter tender documents led to the lose of Sh147 million.

The initial tender is said to have been altered to reflect Sh107 million instead of Sh105 million.

“Gabriel Mutunga who was the procurement officer was the mastermind of the lethal scheme which led to the loss,” ruled Mugambi.

The ruling also cited the conscription of Kennedy Ochae, a new employer at the commission by Mutunga to sign the altered tender documents.

Meanwhile two former IEBC clerks: Adan Katello Adano and Abdi Elena Ali were acquitted of all charges our to lack of evidence.

The accused were remanded to industrial remand and will be sentenced Tuesday.