UK loses bid to decide use of Chickengate scam cash

The British government has lost its bid to guide the use of£349,057.39 (Sh44.1 million) recovered from a UK firm that bribed Kenya electoral and exam officials to secure contracts.

British High Commission in Nairobi yesterday said the UK government is in agreement for the funds recovered from the ‘Chickengate’ scandal to be used in purchase of ambulances.

This marks a U-turn from its earlier position recommending the confiscated money be used to buy bed nets for pregnant mothers and children in malaria-prone areas, saying this would spread the benefits to most Kenyans and comes with few operating costs.

“Both governments have agreed that the purchase of ambulances was a suitable use of the funds arising from the Smith & Ouzman case,” said a statement the British High Commission.

“These ambulances are being procured by Crown Agents. Most of the vehicles are already in the country and will be converted in Nairobi for medical use.”

READ: State House to mediate Kenya, UK ‘Chickengate’ cash row

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Big win

This is a big win for the Treasury and the anti-graft agency, which wanted the money used to buy 11 ambulances for various hospitals.

“It is for the Kenya government to decide on how best to distribute the ambulances. We expect an announcement early in the New Year,” said the British High Commission.

Britain’s Serious Crimes Office successfully prosecuted and had top managers of Smith & Ouzman, a security printing firm, convicted of bribing officials of the Interim Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IIEC) and the Kenya National Examinations Council (Knec) and recovered the money that the public lost in inflated printing contracts.

Halakhe Waqo, the Ethics and Anti-Corruption (EACC) chief executive, had in March accused the UK government of trying to dictate what the funds should be used for, an assertion that the British government has since denied.

London’s Department for International Development (DfID) said the ‘Chickengate’ cash was enough to buy about 140,000 bed nets, noting that increased coverage of insecticide-treated bed nets was key in lowering child mortality and reducing the risk of malaria among pregnant women.

Key players

A new fully equipped four-wheel-drive ambulance costs about Sh8 million, meaning the seized funds can only buy six ambulances.

The agreement on the use of the recovered cash comes as the EACC cleared suspects named in a London court as key players in the scandal. It recommended criminal charges against former electoral boss James Oswago.

Those missing from the EACC list, but were mentioned in the London court include IEBC chairman Issack Hassan, sacked Energy secretary Davis Chirchir and former Knec boss Paul Wasanga.