Man linked to NSSF loss of Sh256m dies but case unresolved
What you need to know:
Mr Mtuweta had also been dogged by a court case filed by the Narc administration in 2003.
The Sh256 million disappeared in the collapsed Euro Bank through the account of the suspended Shah Munge stockbroker after it was irregularly moved from the Central Bank of Kenya.
Ben Mtuweta, the man under whose watch the National Social Security Fund (NSSF) lost Sh256 million in the run-up to the 2002 General Election, died last Tuesday after battling an illness.
Mr Mtuweta had also been dogged by a court case filed by the Narc administration in 2003.
The Sh256 million disappeared in the collapsed Euro Bank through the account of the suspended Shah Munge stockbroker after it was irregularly moved from the Central Bank of Kenya.
The cash is suspected to have been used by powerful people in the Kanu administration with the accused in the criminal case privately protesting their innocence to the end.
NSSF officials are reported to have received calls from influential personalities ordering them to release the cash.
“I warned them against releasing the cash despite the order. It’s sad that the mastermind is still enjoying his ill-gotten wealth,” said a lawyer with intimate knowledge of the matter who cannot be named without prejudicing the case.
The criminal case No 2789 of 2003 is headlined Republic vs Benedict Nyange Mtuweta & Another. It is set for mention on January 24.
A letter from Mr Mtuweta’s lawyer to the Director of Public Prosecutions dated November 6 captures the sheer misery of Mr Mtuweta.
“As we informed the court, our client is currently admitted at the Aga Khan Hospital where he has been for the last one month… our client’s health has been deteriorating,” it said.
The law firm was pushing for the State to do tests on whether Mr Mtuweta could proceed with the trial.
Mr Mtuweta’s co-accused is Mr Stanley Chemng’orem, the former deputy managing trustee (human resources) who signed away the cash.
A former finance manager confounded the court when she revealed that she opted to walk away from the office than get involved in the illegality.
Mr Mtuweta was ruined by the scandal, which brought down the largest stockbroker in Nairobi. He had just moved from a plum job at Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) to NSSF with opposition from the Federation of Kenya Employers.
Mr Mtuweta joins a crop of former public servants who have died while battling court cases. They include Goldenberg suspects Wilfred Koinange (a former Finance PS), former CBK deputy governor Eliphaz Riungu, and former head of intelligence James Kanyotu.
The first two died in circumstances similar to Mr Mtuweta’s whose funeral announcement included an M-Pesa number seeking for contributions.
Mr Mtuweta will be buried in Mgange-Nyika, Wundanyi in Taita on December 1.
