A former chief education officer involved in the Sh296 million bursary scam in West Pokot informed an Eldoret Court that he could not comprehend English.
The Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) is charging Simon Kachapin Kodomuk, one of four former senior county workers, with 27 economic offences in court.
On Tuesday, the corruption court charged the first suspect in the theft of funds meant to help financially struggling West Pokot County students. He had gone missing since the EACC’s arrest of his three colleagues last week.
In the administration of former Governor John Lonyangapuo, Mr. Kodomuk held the position of chief officer for education alongside his alleged confederates, Ms. Mary Ngoriakes, a former chief officer of education, Mr. Mathew Arusio, a former county director of bursary, and Francis Tikol, a former assistant county director of bursary.
On Monday of last week, authorities charged his suspected accomplices and detained them until Tuesday, when they decided to set bail.
When Mr. Kodomuk appeared in court, he informed the magistrate that he did not comprehend English and requested that the allegations against him related to economic offences be read out in Swahili.
He did not appear in court when his three former coworkers entered plea deals last week. His attorney stated that his hospitalisation was due to illness.
During the plea hearing, the first accused, Mr. Kodumuk, startled the court by confessing that, despite his position as West Pokot County’s main official overseeing education during the time under investigation, he did not speak English.
He requested that the court read the accusations against him in Swahili.
He said to the court, “Please read the charges in Kiswahili for me. I don’t understand the English in this court.”
The accused refuted 27 allegations of economic crimes in violation of Section 47A of the Anti-Corruption and Economic Crimes Act, and on Tuesday, the court made a decision on the bail application.
On Tuesday, the court ordered the four ex-employees to post a Sh63 million bond, with an additional Sh14.7 million in cash bail.
Four individuals appeared before Chief Magistrate Dennis Mikoyan: former chief officer for education Simon Kachapin Kodomuk; former assistant county director of bursary Francis Pkemoi Tikol; former chief officer for education Mary Cheptur Ngoriakes; and former county director of bursary Mathew Pkanan Arusio.
Following an appeal by the prosecution to have the four suspects enter a new plea since the first accused individual had not yet been apprehended during the last plea taking, the judge instructed them to do so before issuing a bail determination.
In response to their bond application, the judge ordered the release of the first, second, and fourth accused on a bond of Sh20 million each, with one surety of the same amount, or on a cash bail of Sh4.7 million each.
The court ordered the release of the first, third, and fourth accused on a similar surety for Sh20 million each, with an additional cash bail of Sh4.7 million each.
An alternative cash bail of Sh1.25 million freed the second accused on a Sh3 million bond.
The magistrate stated that instead of being discriminatory, the different bail terms considered the circumstances surrounding the alleged offences, the money purportedly embezzled, and the roles each accused individual had played.
The court also ordered the accused to keep all of their travel documents on file for the duration of their case.
Magistrate Mikoyan gave the following directive: “I direct that the suspects deposit their travel documents with my court assistant until the case facing them is heard and determined.”
The prosecution has lined up nine witnesses to testify against them throughout the trial. The prosecution informed the court that the accused committed the crimes between 2017 and 2022.
The accusations against them include conspiring to commit economic crimes, fraudulently obtaining public property, abusing their position, wilfully disobeying rules and regulations related to the handling of public finances, and creating fictitious documents.
They faced charges of falsifying public officer accounts for public monies.
The accused individuals protested the harsh bail conditions via their lawyer, Kevin Ondago. The court will first hear the case on December 2, and then again on December 3 and 4.
