Bishop who embezzled USD9m belonging to Kenyan SACCO to Lose Property
NAIROBI, Kenya: Authorities on Thursday ordered Kiambu politician and county official David Kariuki Ngare’s assets seized to recover Sh1 billion he allegedly illegally withdrew from Ekeza Sacco to fund his lifestyle.
An official inquiry report by the Co-operatives ministry said the Thika-based Calvary Chosen Centre bishop, his wife, and his land selling and house development firm Gakuyo Real Estate should suffer the seizure to recover monies owed members of Ekeza Sacco.
The report prepared by appointed liquidator-receivers Stephen Njoroge (assistant director for co-operative audit) and Philip Uluma (principal co-operative officer) said Mr. Kariuki started out with the aim of enriching himself and had no intention of helping hapless Kenyans buy parcels of land via his firm, Gakuyo Real Estate.
“All staff who irregularly loaned themselves monies from Ekeza must make arrangements to repay the monies or will have their properties seized to recover the same,” said the report.
The meeting in Nairobi on Thursday heard that Bishop Kariuki aka Gakuyo frustrated Ekeza’s internal audit teams from carrying out their work to facilitate plunder.
During the inspection exercise, the bishop, his personal assistant, and Ekeza vice chairman James Kimani and former chief executive, Gladys Muriithi declined to furnish the liquidator-receiver managers with their bank statement.
The report showed that the trio directly withdrew money from Ekeza, which was reportedly spent on building houses on Gakuyo’s land and buying other pieces with huge sums delivered to the chairman’s house — which he spent on a palatial house in Kiambu, a farm in Kabati as well as pursuing his personal interests.
(source/ Nairobi News)
