2.2 Trillion Shillings Either Stolen or Misused in Less Than 2 Years

Kenya is a looting country. Other countries have the mafia but in Kenya, the mafia has the country. Kenya is a country running on the wheels of corruption, debts and at the mercy of cartels. The cartels are in almost every field in this country, they are angry, hungry and vicious, ready to kill anyone who stands on their way.

During the time of President Daniel Toroitich Arap Moi, the thieves then mostly used to steal in hundreds of thousands and in millions. Moi used to steal and buy large tracks of land to keep animals or plant crops. Some would invest in companies around the country while a few selfish ones, would hide their loot in offshore accounts.

During the time of President Emilio Stanley Mwai Kibaki, looters of public funds started stealing in hundreds of millions with daring ones making away with billions. These were mostly selfish thieves who would steal cash to hide in their homes, buy luxury cars, choppers and houses abroad. But corruption was not as rampant as it is at the moment.

Then came the government of one President Uhuru Muigai Kenyatta. The government in which stealing in millions is a shame. People in this government are always stealing in billions and now, in less than 2 years, a total of 2.2 trillion shillings have either been stolen, lost or misused.

How 2.2 Trillion Shillings Have Been Lost

Who remembers the Riddle of 1 billion shilling “split” fuel at Kenya Pipeline that Kenyans might be paying for? It emerged that Kenyans have been unwittingly paying billions of shillings to Kenya Pipeline Company (KPC) to cover up for a massive theft of fuel at the company. The money lost might be more than a billion for the theft has been going on for years. For instance, at one point, KPC told oil marketers that a total of 7.2 million liters were lost through spillage and another 4.4 million liters stolen at Koru, near Kisumu. In this case, insurance companies are supposed to pay but when the companies fail, KPC passes the cost to consumers.

The whereabouts of the 1.3 billion shillings said to have been looted from the EPZ Authority remains a mystery. Three managers from the authority were suspended but no money has been recovered. Records show that the funds lost from the authority might be even more than what was discovered.

During the month of November, three Chinese nationals and some Kenyans were arrested for taking part in looting millions of shillings from SGR through a ticketing scandal. More than one billion shillings is said to have gone into individual pockets. It is evident that senior officials in the government are also involved. The SGR is a cash cow.

From the recent report by the Auditor General, 30 billion shillings are unaccounted for in just six counties. How many counties do we have? 47. But in six counties alone, 30 billion shillings have been looted. It seems like the idea of devolution evenly distributed priests and priestesses of corruption across the country.

A total of 4 billion shillings issued to help families affected by the drought cannot be accounted for by the National Drought Management Authority. Typical Kenyan leaders, using the poor to enrich themselves.

The Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) is mandated to make sure that the country runs by having enough revenue. However, corruption reigns supreme at the organization. The latest scandal was that of duty stamp tender where a total of 18 billion shillings might have gone down the drain according to a report by the Auditor General.

The government advertising agency is said to have lost 2.5 billion shillings while the Kenya Pipeline Company still rules with 18 billion shilling scandals over compensation claim. What about the 6 billion shillings that were looted from the prisons department? And what about the 2.1 billion shillings meant for subsidized fertilizer that was lost at the cereals board? At the same NCPB, there is a maize scandal where more than 4 billion shillings meant for farmers might have been looted.

The ICT ministry cannot account for 16.3 billion shillings that were supposed to be used on the digital literacy program for standard one pupils. The cash was meant for the purchase of tablets but the Auditor General says there were no documents to support the purchase.

The government was to roll out an affordable cooking gas program for Kenyans to have access to clean energy. The program never saw the light of the day. Why? About 3 billion shillings meant for the program was looted. The DCI is still probing the matter.

The government used a total of 7.3 billion shillings to plant maize in Galana. Guess how much was retrieved after the harvest? 35 million shillings only. How on earth does one use 7.3 billion shillings to get 35 million shillings? Only in Kenya.

Stats show that at least 18 government parastatals are in a 30 billion shilling debts with all the deals owed being shoddy. The Kenya Broadcasting Corporation (KBC) is said to have paid 1.3 billion shillings to lawyers as fees in cases that had no economic value to the company.

The New KCC could not account for 1.7 billion shillings while the 47 Women Representatives could not account for a whopping 4 billion shillings. The Auditor General also revealed that contractors abandoned the construction of roads after being paid 9 billion shillings.

Have you heard about the second National Youth Service (NYS) scandal? The cases are still ongoing in court where more than 8 billion shillings might have been looted. It is still not clear of who is the big fish behind the looting.

Have you been paying your National Hospital Insurance Fund (NHIF) dutifully? Do you know that you are paying to enrich the thieves at NHIF? The recent scandal indicates that more than 6 billion shillings has gone to individual pockets. In fact, the scandal at NHIF might be bigger than the two NYS scandals combined.

Other Notable Scandals Include

1. The 3 billion shilling bullet factory assets that cannot be accounted for
2. The 700 million shillings lost in Laikipia County through fake claims by contractors
3. The 159 million shillings issued by Kenya Power and Lighting Company on illegal tenders
4. The 2.5 billion shillings said to have been looted by the embattled Migori Governor Okoth Obado.
5. The 9.2 billion shillings lost at the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission
6. The 11.3 billion shillings lost at the cereals board.
7. The 1.5 billion shilling Ruaraka land scandal
8. The 1.5 billion shilling Integrity Centre deal.

These are just but a list of a few scandals that have rocked the country in less than 2 years. If we decide to track the scandals ever since the Jubilee government took over power, the list will be endless.

These stats are thanks to the Corruption Tracker