Moi Girls Eldoret principal charged with abuse of office

Moi Girls High School, Eldoret Principal Jane Jelagat Rotich has been charged with abuse of office.

Ms Rotich was charged alongside the school’s accountant, David Kiptanui Limo on Wednesday.

They appeared before Eldoret Law Courts Senior Principal Magistrate Samuel Mokua who read the charges filed by the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC).

In the first count, Ms Rotich is accused of failing to comply with procurement laws.

It is alleged that on diverse dates between May and December, 2012 being the Accounting Officer of Moi Girls High School Eldoret, she failed to comply with the Public Procurement and Disposal Act 2005 in the procurement of the school bus registration number KBT 545N.

EACC further accused the principal and Mr Limo of abuse of the authority of their office by improperly issuing a Local Purchase Order of Sh10.5 million to Kenya Grange Vehicles Industries Limited for the purchase of the bus while no tender had been awarded to the said company.

In the Third Count, the court heard that Ms Rotich on October 11, 2012, paid Sh5 million to Kenya Grange Vehicles Industries Limited for the purchase of the school bus.

She faced another count of issuing Sh6.45m to the company on December 19, 2012.

Defence lawyer Kipnyekwei Javan said his clients have been cooperating with EACC since investigations tarted but they needed time to go through prosecution documents before the hearing starts.

“Investigations in this case have been ongoing since 2012 and the Accused have always fully complied with the authorities. We request for more time to be able to go through all the prosecution documents which are bulky to avoid a situation whereby we come into court without facts,” Kipnyekwei said.

Miss Oduor for EACC told the court that the anti-corruption agency had already recorded statements from 23 and there was sufficient evidence to support the case against the two accused.

The accused were released the two on Sh1 million bond each with a surety of the same amount.

Mokua said the hearing of the case will run concurrently between June 30, July 1 and July 2.

The two accused were arrested on March 25, 2014 but were released after paying Sh20,000 bond and were required to present themselves in court on Tuesday.

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