Garissa Governor Ali Korane and four others have been charged with the alleged embezzlement of Sh233 million World Bank grant.
The governor and his county officials face a total of eight counts, ranging from misappropriation of public funds, willful failure to comply with the law and conspiracy to commit an offence of economic crime.
Particulars of the offence are that between February 25, and September 30, 2019, within Garissa County, they conspired to commit an economic crime, namely mismanagement of public funds allocated to the county government as a conditional grant for the Kenya Urban Support Programme amounting to Sh233 million.
Through his defence counsel, Ahmed Nassir, Governor Korane said there was no money lost and that none of his family members or friends benefited from the funds.
The lawyer also told Nairobi Anti-Corruption Court Chief Magistrate Douglas Ogoti that since the governor has no power to recruit employees, he should cannot interfere with witnesses. Therefore, he should not be denied access to his office.
Lawyer Paul Nyamondi appearing for the second to the fifth accused told the court that the beneficiary of the funds is the county government of Garissa.
