MCA, former Garissa County officials over charged with Sh51.4 million fraud
The Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (ODPP) has arraigned a Member of the County Assembly (MCA) and two former senior officials of the Garissa County Government over the alleged fraudulent loss of Sh51,495,253 in public funds.
The accused — Bambala MCA Abdi Ibrahim Daar, former Garissa County Director of Accounting Services Mohamud Dubow Korane, and former Senior Principal Economist Yussuf Bethe Ali — were charged alongside Qorjarey Enterprise and General Supplies Limited before Principal Magistrate Hon. Jackson Omwange.
They face 27 counts, including conspiracy to commit an economic crime, fraudulent acquisition of public property, abuse of office and forgery. All the accused pleaded not guilty.
The court heard that the offences were allegedly committed between September 14, 2021, and July 1, 2022.
The charges relate to irregular payments for emergency food supplies, water trucking services and office furniture purportedly supplied to the County Government of Garissa but allegedly never delivered.
According to the prosecution, between April 5 and June 30, 2022, the accused conspired to facilitate the transfer of Sh51,495,253 to the company.
The fraudulent acquisition charge specifically concerns payments processed between April 7 and June 30, 2022.
Korane, who served as Director of Accounting Services at the time, faces five counts of abuse of office for allegedly approving payments on various dates in April, May and June 2022.
He is also charged with forgery of payment vouchers dated March 29, April 5, April 29, May 24 and June 15, 2022.
Ali is accused of abusing his office by raising invoices in the Integrated Financial Management Information System (IFMIS) on April 6, April 14, May 4 and June 28–29, 2022, actions prosecutors say facilitated the disputed payments.
Daar faces charges of conspiracy, fraudulent acquisition of public property, forgery and uttering false documents.
He is alleged to have presented forged payment documents to commercial banks between April and July 2022 in support of the impugned transactions.
Prosecution Counsel Evans Kazungu urged the court to impose strict bond terms, citing the gravity of the offences and the substantial amount of public funds involved.
The defence sought a review of bond terms, arguing they were excessive.
The court granted each accused a bond of Sh5 million with one surety or an alternative cash bail of Sh2 million, revising earlier terms of Sh10 million bond or Sh5 million cash bail.
The case will be mentioned on March 24, 2026, for pre-trial directions, with hearing scheduled on a priority basis from May 4 to 7, 2026.
The prosecution maintains that the case underscores ongoing efforts to safeguard public resources and hold accountable those entrusted with public office.