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| Peter Chiwai Shehe |
The integrity of Cooperative bank of Kenya has been put to test after its legal department authorized the freezing of a client’s account basing their action on a forged court order. The bank closed an account belonging to immediate former Ganze Member of parliament Peter Chiwai Shehe, Co-operative bank parliament branch, with Ksh. 27 million in deposits after an investigating officer with the ethics and anti-corruption commission uttered a forged court order ostensibly signed by anti-corruption court chief magistrate Beatrice Wanjala of Milimani Anti-corruption court,.
Following forensic investigations commissioned by the complainant in the case by lawyer David Ochieng it has now emerged that the bank failed to undertake due diligence to ascertain the authenticity of the court order used to freeze the ex-legislators account.
The ex-MP is now contemplating taking legal action against the second tier lender for breach of confidentiality, loss of income, loss of reputation given that he is a public figure having served Ganze constituency in the last parliament and general damages.
He avers that the matter was used by his political opponents to whip up emotions in the last elections that led to his eventual loss of his seat to the incumbent Teddy Mwambire.
The matter arose after EACC Launched inquiries into alleged misappropriation of CDF through fictitious construction of Manjanjani-Mwapupa Jaribuni road for the financial year 2013/2014.
The inquiry led to the eventual prosecution of the then member of parliament Peter Chiwai Shehe and four members of his constituency development committee together with the contractor Beyond chance Freight Services Limited.
They were accused of conspiracy to commit corruption, dealing with suspected property, failure to comply with the law relating to procurement and making false documents in which they obtained Ksh. 3,363,780 and Ksh 999,999 .
Sources at Co-operative bank disclosed to us that the matter has raffled feathers at the banks legal unit with heads expected to roll.
The court clerk who colluded with the ethics and anti-corruption officer to obtain the said court orders has since been suspended awaiting conclusion of investigations.
Likewise the investigating officer faces dismissal and prosecution around the same court orders.
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