The County Assembly of Kericho accused Governor Eric Mutai of using his office to harass to humiliate and harass employees often a times demanding favours in return of the officers keeping their jobs.
In its case against the Governor, two staff former employees of the devolved unit, said the County Chief had frequently forced them to contribute money for his fund raisers and other unexplained emergency situations he found himself in in the course of his duties as the Governor.
Edna Tanui, who appointed and dismissed as a Member of the County Executive Committee, told the Senate, that she had cumulatively contributed a total of Sh1.5 million to the Governor for fund raisers in the two years she served as a CEC.
Tanui and other CECs were dismissed by the Governor on December 23, 2024 by the Governor through a post of his official Facebook page.
While the County Chief did not give reasons for the sackings, merely stating that it was a reorganization of his Government, Tanui told the House that she suspects that she was fired because she failed to contribute to the Governor’s constant demand for money for public collections.
“I have known why the Governor sacked me. Apart from saying that it was an executive order reorganizing his administration, I suspect that I had to go because I refused to support him in his fund raisers,” she told the House during her evidence in chief.
Until her dismissal she had contributed to the Governor not more than Sh1.5 million to support the fund raisers. However, evidence submitted to the House shows that only Sh300,000 sent directly through the Governor’s mobile number.
Pressed by Senators and the Governors lawyers, she was at pains to explain the difference of Sh1.2 million as there was no evidence in the bundle of evidence submitted to support the case.
But she insisted that had dispatched the money to the county chief under duress and through the personal aides of the Governor Mutai, who she identified as Robinson Kiplagat and Renny Kipsang Ngetich.
“If given a chance, I can produce conversations with the Governor leading to the Sh1.2 million,” she said, even though she admitted that the process will include a court process to compel Safaricom to provide the call logs of the phone conversations.
Documents presented to the House by the Assembly indicate that a Mr Paul Misik deposited Sh50,000 to the witness’ mpesa account, Janet Koech deposited Sh10,000, Beatrice Kiptanui Sh10,000.
Senator Danson Mungatana challenged the witness to explain the disparity between the Sh300,000 and the Sh1.2 million arguing that her testimony did not sufficiently justify the claim of the Sh1.5 million sent to the Governor.
“How was the money given?” he asked, adding that the witness should have planned to explain the difference.
Senator Okongo Omogeni wanted to know the identity of these individuals and whether they deposited the money to her account so that she could forward to the Governor.
Senator Godfrey Osotsi suggested that the Money could be proceeds of corruption and challenged the witness to explain its source.
Kipngeno Bett, who was the first to take the stand, had told the House that the Governor had the habit of calling him and demanding the money.
“I send him the money after he called and demanded the money. But I don’t know where he expected me to get the money from,” said Bett.
He said that the Governor had once humiliated him right in front of his family.
“He called and said I ungrateful because I could not send him little money when asked.”
Asked about the source of the money, the two witnesses told the House that the money was raised from their personal savings.
Asked by lawyer Elias Mutuma of the County Assembly whether he was under obligation to send the money, the witness said there was none, but he had to send the money to save himself from disparaging remarks of the Governor.
The third witness Alfred Mutai Korir defended the integrity of the digital system used for voting at the County Assembly of Kericho.
He said it was tamperproof and no unauthorized person could access it.
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