The Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) has arrested nine people, including six Kenya Ports Authority (KPA) officials and three contractors, over Sh62 million tender irregularities.
Officers arrested five KPA officials on Tuesday evening while four others were arrested at night for what the EACC believes was collusion in awarding the contract to a company owned by an employee of the authority.
The tender was awarded in 2016 to a company identified as Chemiso East Africa, owned by an employee, but is said to have supplied nothing.
The officials were charged on Wednesday morning with graft allegations before a Mombasa Magistrate Court, with six counts of graft; fraudulent acquisition of public property, conflict of interest contrary to Section, money laundering, obtaining contract from a public institution by false pretence, forgery, and uttering false documents.
Former Head of Procurement and Supplies at KPA Yobesh Oyaro, KPA members of the evaluation committee David Angwenyi, Norah Mugambi, Athanase Wambari and David Arika were charged with graft involving a Sh62 million tender reserved for disadvantaged groups.
Others that were charged with them include; Robert Bosuben (Senior Clerical Officer at the Civil Engineering Department at KPA) and three agents from a private; Azenath Kwamboka Mageto, Rose Cherotich and Idd Arube Nanyang.
According to the charge sheet, between April 2, 2014, and June 2, 2015, the officials interfered with tender number KPA/036/2014-15/CE—for building works that was reserved for the disadvantaged group for Sh62,732,772.74.
They used a disability card bearing a name purporting it to be a genuine card from the National Council for Persons with Disabilities.
They all denied the charges before Mombasa Chief Magistrate Alex Ithuku.