Ex-NHIF boss set free as Haji drops yet another graft case

The Director of Public Prosecutions Noordin Haji yesterday dropped Sh1.1 billion in corruption charges against former National Hospital Insurance Fund (NHIF) chief executive officer Geoffrey Mwangi.

Haji said no money was lost in the award of the contentious tender to an online payment company nine years ago. The DPP also withdrew the charges against Mwangi after finding that there was no sufficient evidence to sustain the trial and that the procurement for service for the provision of the Integrated Revenue Collection System by NHIF was done in accordance with the stipulated law and guidelines.

The contract for revenue collection was awarded to Webtribe Limited, trading as Jambopay, which together with its director Robert Muriithi Muna and CEO Danson Muchemi, were among those arraigned in court in 2018 over the NHIF Scandal but charges were dropped in June 2020 due to insufficient evidence.

No evidence

The Anti-Corruption Court in Milimani allowed the DPP’s request to have the case against Mwangi dropped under section 87(a) of the Criminal Procedure Code (CPC), which allows the prosecutor to withdraw the case at any time before judgement is delivered. However, the case may be revived in future if new evidence becomes available.

“I find that sufficient grounds have been laid in support of the application to withdraw the charges. I, therefore, allow the case against Mwangi to be withdrawn,” Senior Principal Magistrate Victor Wakumile ruled.

The decision by the prosecution to withdraw the charges was prompted by a letter by Mwangi’s lawyer Migos Ogamba which invited the DPP to find that there was no evidence to charge the former chief executive. In his letter, the lawyer had urged the DPP to review the eight graft charges against Mwangi saying that he was wrongly charged.

The charges included engaging in a project without prior planning, willful failure to comply with procurement laws, false accounting and abuse of office.

“NHIF procured the services for Integrated Revenue Collection Services from Webtribe. This was done as per the procurement guidelines stipulated in the law. There is the existence of a duly executed plan,” lawyer Ogamba told the DPP in the letter.

He added that the project had been approved by the NHIF board in the financial year 2013 and 2014. Further, that the tender committee members carried out their work diligently and NHIF got value for money. “Mwangi being the acting general manager, finance and control and the accounting officer of NHIF did not make an independent decision to pay Webtribe.

The tender was floated, there were bidders who bid for the tender, a technical evaluation was carried out and there was a successful winner. Had Mwangi refused this payment, he would have been held in contempt,” Ogamba stated.

The former chief executive further informed the prosecution that there were no funds lost at NHIF as alleged by the investigators and that Webtribe provide a service needed by the insurer.

The service is still in use at NHIF.

Co-accused

Following the letter and the new evidence tabled by Mwangi before the DPP for review of the case, Magistrate Wakumile, in his ruling yesterday, urged the prosecutor to also review the charges against Mwangi’s 17 co-accused.

They include Mwangi’s predecessor at NHIF Simeon Kirgotty and the health insurer’s audit committee members Mudzo Nzili, Yussuf Ibrahim and Elly Nyaim. Others are Ruth Sidoi (Acting Corporate Secretary), Gilbert Gathuo (Senior Business ICT Director), Irene Rono (Assistant Manager Finance Reconciliation), Yusuf Ibrahim (NHIF Board Member), Joseph Mbuvi, Pamela Marendi, Gibson Muhuhu, Jacinta Mwangi, Kennedy Wakhu, Fredrick Onyancha, Millicent Mwangi and Darius Philip Mbogo.

He granted the prosecution 15 days to review charges against Kirgotty and the 16 others. The case will be mentioned on February 10 for the DPP to give its final decision the case.