Busia Governor Sospeter Ojaamong and three Busia County executives will spend two nights in police custody pending their bail ruling on Friday. They were charged with seven counts of fraud when they were arraigned before the Anti Corruption Court at Milimani, Nairobi, on Wednesday after the Director of Public Prosecutions Noordin Haji gave the go-ahead for their prosecution.
The counts they faced included engaging in a project without proper planning, abuse of office and conspiracy to commit an economic crime. Ojaamong and the county officials were accused of defrauding the county government of Busia Kshs 8 million.
According to the prosecution, they entered into the MoU for a feasibility study on solid waste management which was to be done by Madam R Enterprise which was not procured procedurely. Moreover, Governor Ojaamong was accused of entering the MoU yet he knew the study wasn’t budgeted for in the 2013/2014 budget.
They will spend two nights at EACC police station after they were remanded by Anti-Corruption court magistrate Douglas Ogoti pending a ruling on their release on bail, and even though Ojaamong’s lawyer James Orengo had requested for temporary freedom, Ogoti maintained that he had to give a wholesome and reasonable ruling.