FORMER REA CHAIRMAN GICHARU SKIPS SUMMONS BY ANTI-CORRUPTION BODY

 In an interesting twist, the chairman gave directions to all board members to appear before investigators in the company of his personal lawyer, something that did not amuse some of them. They were heard complaining that the chairman wanted to listen into private and personal issues that they may have wanted to report to the investigators.

 

Dr. Simon N. Gicharu

Former board members at the Rural Electrification Authority (REA) whose term in office came to an end recently could face lengthy jail terms if as expected the Director of Public Prosecutions recommends for prosecution based on the findings contained in a file that is before The Ethics and Anti –corruption commission. The detectives are investigating claims of embezzlement of funds through the purchase of faulty transformers at highly inflated prices. A quick search on the REA website indicates that the board is not in place.

The Ethics and Anti- Corruption Commission in a letter dated the 19^th of September 2018 Ref: EACC.6/9/1 VOL 11 (154) had summoned twelve individuals to record statements over huge losses experienced by the power distributions company. The letter was signed by one Humphrey Mahiva for the Commission. The individuals led by the former chairman Dr. Simon N. Gicharu and former CEO Nganga Munyu were to appear before the investigators at the commissions head offices on divers dates between the 24^th and 28^th September 2018.

However in an apparent show of spite for the commission investigators, the chairman Dr. Gicharu did not show up instead he sent his personal lawyer who asked that the boss be given some other date to appear as he was at the time apparently out of the country. This website has reliably established that the chairman was actually at the Kenyan coast, where through his lawyer, was monitoring the events as they unfolded at the commission.

It is not clear at the moment whether the chairman has been on the run, but all indications point into that direction because he has not been seen in public since the summons were issued. Instead from the Kenyan coast the chairman flew to Rwanda where he has spent two weeks now. He spoke to some board members on phone telling them that there was nothing to worry about as he had placed things under control by “seeing” the investigators.

In an interesting twist, the chairman gave directions to all board members to appear before investigators in the company of his personal lawyer, something that did not amuse some of them. They were heard complaining that the chairman wanted to listen into private and personal issues that they may have wanted to report to the investigators.

REA was created by the government purposely as a vehicle for the enhancement and acceleration of rural electrification in Kenya. That noble objective seems to have given some top fat cats at the firm ideas to swindle the public of huge amounts of money in inflated tenders, if the investigation by the Anti-Corruption Commission officers is anything to go by.