University Intern At Nairobi Revenue Office Arrested For Manipulating Portal To Divert Funds

 

A student at a local university is in trouble over alleged collaboration with county officials to divert public money to manipulated county accounts. John Gachagua a student at a local university was arrested alongside a revenue collection boss at St. Peters Clavers station.  University student caught in Nairobi revenue theft scandal The student, John Gachagua, was interning at one of Nairobi's revenue collection offices. He was arrested alongside Daniel Odidi Ganje, the officer in charge of data at St. Peters Cleavers Revenue Offices in Starehe sub-county.  According to the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC), the two were arrested on Thursday, January 18. The anti-graft agency indicated that the student and his boss allegedly manipulated the Nairobi City County revenue portal, making it reflect payments yet to be made to the county. How Nairobi county officials manipulate revenue system to divert county funds "The two asked a client who wanted to pay KSh 45,000 as annual parking fees for his commercial vehicles to deposit the amount into a private account. The private account belonged to a co-conspirator John Gachagua," read a report by the EACC. The client would, in return, be allowed to pay a lesser amount. To prove that the proposal was not a raw deal, the student, together with his boss, keyed into the revenue collection portal system the registration numbers of the client's vehicles. The manipulated system indicated that he had paid.  The client, appalled by the underhand dealings at the revenue office, reported the matter and verified his full-year payment, having not deposited any amount into the county revenue accounts. EACC discovers how county funds are embezzled EACC said such diversion was a major impediment, limiting counties from attaining their monthly and annual revenue targets "It is for this, among other factors, that some county governments are performing worse than municipalities that existed before them," EACC explained. The revenue office boss was released on a cash bail of KSh 50,000, and the student is on compellence. They are required to report to the EACC on Tuesday, February 6. This comes even as the Nairobi Members of County Assembly, through an ad hoc committee, finalised probing persons of interest over revenue queries at the city county. The location, control, and access of the Nairobi Revenue Services system were the burning issues during the proceedings.

by  Michael Ollinga Oruko