The Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) has recovered Sh11,131,305 stolen by a senior official at the Ministry of Education's State Department of Early Learning and Basic Education.   

This is after the anti-graft body won a case it filed against Joshua Momanyi Ocharo who “established” a ghost school and proceeded to allocate Government funds meant for the Free Day Secondary Education Initiative.

Momanyi is said to have manipulated the final funds' distribution schedules and misleadingly represented the non-existent school as a legitimate beneficiary.  

Momanyi created a ghost school called ‘Mundeku Secondary School’, purportedly located in Khwisero Sub-County, Kakamega County; fraudulently added its name in the payment records, and always inserted his personal bank account number against the ghost school for purposes of processing payments.

He committed the offence between August 22 and June 18, 2018. 

"The ‘school’ that never was, received funds through Momanyi’s personal bank account and as such, Momanyi was the sole beneficiary of the stolen funds," the EACC said.

Delivering the Judgement in this case, Justice Prof Nixon Sifuna said that Mr. Momanyi Ocharo conceived and executed a fraudulent scheme that resulted in embezzlement of public funds to the tune of Sh11,131,305.53 at the expense of the children of Kenya, who are the beneficiaries of the Free Day Secondary Education.

As a Clerical Officer in the Department of Secondary School Education, Momanyi was charged with the responsibility of preparing the Funds Distribution Schedule for Free Day Secondary Schools Education (FDSE).

"Although Momanyi embezzled Sh11,131,305.53, the Commission's case focused on the recovery of Sh9,231,305.53, which had been unlawfully deposited into his personal bank account as a result of the fraudulent activities," EACC said.

"A sum of Sh1,900,000 was relinquished by Ken Carz Limited, which represented a portion of the amount Momanyi had paid towards the purchase of a Toyota Vanguard vehicle."

The Commission conducted investigations following allegations received in September 2018, that Momanyi had embezzled public funds from the Ministry of Education through fraudulent actions.