deputy president rigathi gachagua and former dci boss georg kinoti
A senior Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) official who was leading investigations on Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua’s graft case has alleged that former DCI boss directed him to recommend charges on the former Mathira MP and his nine co-accused.
Obadiah Kuriah stated in a sworn affidavit dated October 15, 2022, that the DCI received a letter from the Financial Reporting Centre on April 15, 2020 on the suspected illegal activity of the nine defendants in relation to the National Irrigation Board embezzlement of funds.
Kuriah continued by stating that he had received instructions to “immediately conduct investigations, including the recording of statements, searches, and the submission of affidavits in court for orders to access the bank accounts of the accused, among other operations.”
He says that his team was given “strict and defined” deadlines to produce conclusions swiftly.
According to him, this prevented him and his team from conducting exhaustive and complete investigations into the claims.
“While investigations were still in progress, the director of DCI, Mr George Kinoti CBS, directed us to make recommendations that will enable the accused persons to face charges…”
“Based on immense pressure from my director, Mr Kinoti, my team made the recommendations The accused persons were charged and investigations could not continue as contemplated for various reasons.” He said.
Kuriah stated that essential aspects of investigations were inadequately covered, which would provide light on the “culpability or lack thereof” of the accused.
The authorities had in July seized Rigathi Gachagua’s Ksh 200 million. The money was first blocked in 2020. In its decision, the High Court stated that DP Gachagua was unable to demonstrate how he received the money. The court dismissed the notion that the money was in a fixed account.
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