7 things Kenyans should know about NYS suspect Kabura

The story of the main suspect in the loss of the Sh791 million National Youth Service (NYS) scandal, Josephine Kabura Irungu has shocked many Kenyans and exposed how corruption is deeply entrenched in government circles.
Here are seven things Kenyans should know about Kabura.
Kabura was born in 1982 in Murang’a County where she studied at Kiambicho Primary and Secondary Schools and earned a living by braiding hair at her local village.
 
She later moved to Nairobi to work at a salon owned by her aunt.
She is the third born in a family of six.
Her mother is a retired nurse while her father retired as bursar from Chania secondary school.
She has two children who she sired with a pastor in Nairobi but she is not married.
In her controversial affidavit which she linked former Planning and Devolution Cabinet Secretary Anne Waiguru to the NYS scam, Kabura appears to have a very social personality.
Between April and May 2012, she met with Waiguru whom she befriended and the two became good friends and acquaintances.
 
According to her affidavit, she took her CV personally to Waiguru’s Runda home where she was introduced to the former CS’s three sons.
Waiguru also introduced Kabura to her personal assistant Betty Maina, Senior Manager Hassan Noor, the then NYS Deputy Director Adan Harakhe, political analyst Mutahi Ngunyi all who were mentioned in various dealings related to the scam.
Kabura appears to be a brave woman to have come out and swear in an affidavit linking powerful senior government officials to the loss of hundreds of millions at the NYS.
She has also managed to purposefully evade appearing before parliament’s powerful Public Accounts Committee three times.
The MPs had even requested the Inspector General of Police Joseph Boinett to arrest Kabura for failing to honour their summons.
Kabura is a very generous person who is not afraid to share her millions to others.
MPs were baffled to learn that a driver at the Kenya Commercial Bank (KCB), John Kago, had asked Kabura for financial assistance though the two had never met personally.
 
She in turn came to his aid and generously gave Kago a “soft loan” of Sh60 million.
The former hairdresser proved to be very resourceful, engineering the setting up of 20 companies all under her name as a sole proprietor and landing various government deals in the process.
Those who have interacted with Kabura say she is sharp, and has an eye for detail .
It is said that despite having interacted with the high and mighty in the country and also handled billions of shillings, she still retains her village demeanour.
Kabura managed to secure lucrative tenders for her 20 companies running into billions of shillings to supply various supplies to the NYS through single source and avoid a competitive bidding process.
During that time, she managed to evade paying legal taxes to the Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) for her numerous companies.