Rigathi Gachagua, the embattled MP for Mathira, is a proven thief and misappropriator of public funds.
The court, which found him guilty of corruption and ordered him to repay the staggering Sh200 million he had stolen from the government through shady dealings, confirmed this.
Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) George Kinoti provided more information in a statement about how William Ruto’s running mate obtained the Sh200 million that the High Court had ordered him to forfeit to the State, the majority of which was intended for the health sector.
Kinoti claims that Rigathi obtained government contracts through deception by using various businesses.
“Rigathi collected more than Sh1.7 billion from nearly 10 government ministries, state departments, parastatals, and county governments funded through Rafiki microfinance using proxies who had created more than 20 enterprises. The MP solicited young people and women to register businesses and create accounts at Rafiki Microfinance. He then used his influence and extortion to acquire contracts for the businesses. Two of his close female companions also participated in this scheme.
“However, one of Rigathi’s trusted confidants and Personal assistant Julianne Jahenda, was made a signatory in all the accounts opened by the suppliers at the micro-finance. In a well-orchestrated and executed plan, the youths were then given loans by the micro-finance and assisted to supply the required goods, most of which were substandard and broke down immediately after being delivered, leading to losses of hundreds of millions of taxpayers money,” part of the statement by DCI read.
According to DCI, hospitals were the most targeted as they took advantage of efforts by County Governments to equip their health facilities and offer specialized health services to the public.
“In one such deal in 2014, a county-based in central Kenya received medical equipment worth Sh27.4 million shillings for the supply of dialysis machines and a water treatment plant. The tender for the supply of the equipment was awarded to 13 companies all allied to Rigathi. However, the payment was made in a single voucher through Rafiki Micro Finance, then transferred to Rigathi’s personal accounts.
“This is despite the fact that one of the dialysis machines and the water treatment plant supplied were not functional, prompting the national government through Managed Equipment Scheme (MES) to come through by supplying eight dialysis machines and a water treatment plant that are currently in use at the hospital,” DCI said.
“Shockingly, after the tenders were paid to the proxies’ accounts at Rafiki Micro Finance, Jahenda would immediately transfer the money to other accounts belonging to Rigathi, who would then deposit the monies in other different accounts to avoid detection by our hawk-eyed sleuths.
Poor young people would occasionally be forced to sign blank checks that would later be cashed and the proceeds placed into Rigathi’s personal accounts, the author continued.
Detectives discovered that money from loans and inter-company transactions was entering Rigathi’s accounts, proving that he was the final recipient of the money from the counties.
DCI reported that after providing garbage to county hospitals, the suppliers were left to pay back the loans they had obtained from the MFI.
