Arrest Warrant Issued for Uasin Gishu Senator Jackson Mandago & Three Others Over Ksh1.1 Billion Scholarship Scandal

A Nakuru court has issued an arrest warrant for Uasin Gishu Senator Jackson Mandago and three other former officials over the Ksh1.1 billion Finland and Canada scholarship scandal.

The arrest orders were issued after Mandago and his co-accused failed to appear before the Nakuru Chief Magistrate to answer to eleven charges of stealing, abuse of office, and conspiracy to commit a felony.

The court issued the arrest orders following an application by the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) through Victor Mule.

Mandago is charged alongside Joseph Kipkemoi Maritim, Meshak Rono, and Joshua Kipkemoi Lelei.

The four are jointly charged with conspiring to steal Ksh1.1 billion from an account at KCB Eldoret registered under the Uasin Gichu Education Trust Fund, which was meant for overseas university fees for the aggrieved students.

Maritim, Rono, and Lelei are charged with stealing Ksh56.5 million from the education trust fund on diverse dates between June 2021 and September 12, 2022.

Maritim is separately charged with stealing Ksh660,000 while Rono is accused of stealing Ksh10.8 million. Within the same period, Lelei is charged with stealing Ksh2.7 million.

Mandago is charged with abuse of office by arbitrarily entering into memorandums of understanding (MoU) between various universities in Finland and Canada on behalf of the Uasin Gichu County government without a resolution and approval by the County Assembly.

Mandago is further accused of abusing his office when he was governor by misrepresenting that the County Government of Uasin Gichu was offering full scholarships for overseas education.

The arrest warrants are a major development in the case, which has been ongoing for several years. The DPP has been investigating the scandal since 2021, and the charges against Mandago and his co-accused are the first to be filed.

The arrest warrants will allow the police to apprehend Mandago and his co-accused and bring them to justice. The case is likely to be a high-profile one, and it will be interesting to see how it unfolds.