Youth Fund directors offer to resign over graft

Five directors on the Youth Enterprise Development Fund board have offered to resign to pave way for investigations into the loss of more than Sh180 million through dubious means.

Alternate Youth Ministry PS Samuel Macharia, Jane Wanza Mutunga, Nicholas Kariuki, Clement Ayungo and Michael Mwangi were being grilled by Parliament’s Public Investments Committee when they offered to resign.

Earlier, Former Devolution CS Anne Waiguru denied being briefed of the Sh180 million fraud at the Youth Fund by her then PS Peter Mangiti and the Inspectorate of State Corporations.

Waiguru said Mangiti as a member of the Youth Fund board was the one mandated to ensure the law is followed in managing the funds, saying she was only informed after CID had been invited to probe.

The former CS told the Adan Keynan committee she couldn’t stop the theft as she lacked facts on the loss and circumstances under which former Acting CEO Catherine Namuye and Finance Manager Benedict Atavachi were suspended.

The Former Devolution Cabinet Secretary was appearing before the National Assembly’s Public Investments Committee (PIC) to shed more light on the Sh180 million Youth Enterprise Development Fund scam.

This is after Waiguru’s former PS, Peter Mangiti, blamed her for failing to take action on the multi-million shilling graft.

On Wednesday, the PIC was told how Quorandum Limited Managing Director Muriuki Ngamau, who presented himself as a businessman, used part of the money siphoned from the Youth Fund to buy a luxury home in Nairobi’s upmarket Lavington area.

According to reports, property development firm, Duchesspark Limited, reached a deal with Ngamau on the 30th of March last year. By the 24th of April, the entire Sh48.5 million had been paid for the five-bedroom luxury apartment along Hatheru road.

The committee now wants the home seized.