Phone data leads to arrest of Mungatana in Sh51m case

Phone records and bank statements led to yesterday’s prosecution of former assistant minister Danson Mungatana together with six county officials and businessmen accused of stealing Sh51 million from Kilifi County.

The suspects, who were released on a Sh5 million bond, faced 40 charges as it emerged that key among the witnesses in the case is Kilifi governor Amason Kingi.

Malindi Chief Magistrate Julie Oseko released the accused on an alternative cash bail of Sh3 million each after they denied 40 counts of corruption and economic crimes.

Mr Mungatana through his lawyer, Ndegwa Njiru, had opposed pleading to the charges, saying he was still mourning his wife who was buried last Saturday in Garsen.

“My client is still grieving as per the Pokomo customs, incapable of making informed decisions,” he said.

A suspect reckons that the theft was engineered through IFMIS, the State online payment system.

The millions of shillings in question were wired to private companies, including Daima One Enterprises, Zohali Sevices Ltd, Makegra Supplies Ltd, Kilingi Investments Company Ltd, Leadership Edge Associated Ltd and Jahazi Investment Company.

Lucy Wanjugu, a director of Zohali Sevices, says money was wired to her firm’s accounts and ultimately transferred to Mr Mungatana. She received a commission for the service.

She submitted copies of her bank statement, receipts and telephone conversations with Mr Mungatana, which were allegedly extracted by detectives.

They are said to have committed the offences between September 19 and October 7, 2016.