Gakuo, ex-PS jailed for 3 years over cemetery land scam

Former Local Government Permanent Secretary Sammy Kirui and former Nairobi Town Clerk John Gakuo have each been sentenced to three years in jail for abuse of office.

The sentencing is in relation to the purchase of cemetery land in Nairobi, close to a decade ago.

The two will also pay a fine of Sh 1 million each.

Chief Magistrate Douglas Ogoti ruled that they were persons of authority and ought to have stopped the illegal acts but they did not.

Other city officials

Also found guilty of giving misleading information were former Nairobi City Council director of legal affairs Mary Ng'ethe and a former city official Alexander Musee.

The two were secretary and chair, respectively, of the tender evaluation committee and were found guilty of giving a misleading report purporting that the committee had agreed to buy the controversial 120-acre plot in Mavoko town.

The court said they ought to have stopped the payment of Sh283,200,000 to Naen Rech Ltd, who received the money for the irregular purchase of cemetery land.

The court found that both were beneficiaries and conferred a benefit to other persons in the scam.

They were found to have received substantial financial benefits towards the procurement of the land whose price was far above the prevailing market rates of land in a similar location.

READ: City Hall drops plan to buy land for cemetery at Sh221 million

ALSO READ: Lang’ata burial charges raised by up to 60 per cent

MORE: City Hall seeks Swazuri’s help for land amid cemetery crisis

Sh52 million fine

Ms Ng’ethe will serve three years in jail for the offence and pay a fine of Sh52 million, failure to which she will serve an additional one year.

Mr Musee was sentenced to three years also and pay a mandatory fine of Sh32 million or serve an additional one year in jail, in default.

The land was intended to replace the already full Lang’ata cemetery, although it was found unsuitable for use as a burial site.

The court said that the prosecution had proved the case against all of them.

“All the accused persons were person in authority and they acted passively, allowing corruption to take place,” he said.

He said the law gave them powers to stop payment at any stage but they chose to ignore.