Former Siaya County secretary, who also served as deputy county commissioner, was found guilty of irregular procurement of sports equipment totalling to Sh14.9 million, by a Kisumu court.
Kepher Marube and two other people will be sentenced after two weeks, a major win for the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) in their war against graft.
Marube was in 2018 charged alongside Amos Onyango, a former county chief officer for governance, Collins Owino, who is a former internal auditor and Zakayo Ojuok, a former head of procurement.
The other suspects were Tobias Oloo, a former director for Supply Chain and Tom Mboya.
Kisumu Senior Principal Magistrate Robinson Ondiek found Marube, Oloo and Ojuok guilty of fraudulent tendering of sports equipment. Twenty witnesses testified in the case, as reported by Daily Nation.
The court acquitted Owino, Mboya and Onyango for lack of evidence linking them to the Sh14. 9 million fraud.
The convicts were found guilty of several counts of fraud including abuse of office, forgery, willful failure to comply with the law contrary to the law.
The court found that on May 18, 2014 Marube willfully failed to comply with the laws relating to procurement by signing and issuing a notification award tender for the purchase, supply and installation of assorted sports facilities to M/s Samco Traders Limited at Sh14.9 million without evaluation and the approval of award by the tender committee.
He also used his office to improperly confer a benefit to Samco Traders Limited by irregularly executing a contact between the Siaya county government and the company at Sh14.9 million to purchase, supply and install assorted sports facilities without following procurement procedures.
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Odongo was found guilty of abuse of office.
According to the prosecution the tendering committee did not sit, scrutinise the bid documents before awarding the tender. They opted to falsify minutes.
The total amount the department of Sports and Culture had set aside in budget for the project was Sh15 million which was stated to have included construction works at some sports facilities in the county.
Evidence presented in court indicated that the contractor was paid Sh5.6 million but there were plans to pay the remaining amounts.
“The court makes a finding that the State has proved its case beyond reasonable doubt and I convict the first three accused,” said Mr Ondieki.
Marube and his two accomplices were remanded at the Kodiaga Prison in Kisumu to wait for the sentencing.
