FORMER KENYAN NATIONAL MUSEUMS HEAD MZALENDO KIBUNJA FACES CHARGES IN KSH.491 MILLION CORRUPTION CASE

Mzalendo Kibunja, a former director general of the National Museums of Kenya, was charged on Tuesday with misappropriation of Ksh. 491 million in public funds before the Milimani Law Courts.
Kibunja and four other persons were charged with conspiracy to commit corruption, financial misconduct, money laundering, abuse of office, and obtaining proceeds of crime at their arraignment before Senior Principal Magistrate Victor Wakhumile.
The accused planned to embezzle the money by putting identities of people claiming to be National Museums of Kenya employees on the payroll falsely, according to court records obtained by Citizen Digital.

"Between July 2016 and June 2022 within Nairobi City County in the Republic of Kenya, being the Director General, the Director of Human Resources, Administration, and the Ag. Director General, Payroll ICT officer, and the Payroll Accountant respectively at the National Museums of Kenya, you jointly and knowingly entered into an arrangement to include names of persons purportedly as employees of National Museums of Kenya in the payroll of the said National Museums of Kenya whereupon the sum of Kshs. 491,214,551/= was paid as salaries and gratuity while having reason to believe that the said monies formed proceeds of crime," according to the charge sheet.

The other defendants are Oscar Mwaura, a private citizen, Oliver Okinyi, a payroll ICT officer, Wycliffe Ongata, a payroll ICT officer, and Stanvas Ogalo, the director of human resources and administration.
They were all freed after posting a Ksh. 5 million bond and denying the accusations. In addition, the accused were told to surrender their travel documents to the court and refrain from interfering with witnesses.
On June 2, 2024, the case will be discussed in preparation for trial.