A dramatic case has unfolded in Nairobi after detectives from the Investigations Bureau, working under the Ministry of Energy and Petroleum, hauled a husband, his wife, and their accomplice to court over the theft of over twenty-two million shillings from the National Oil Corporation of Kenya.
The saga started when officials at National Oil raised the alarm about missing funds, prompting swift investigations that pointed straight to Gladys Kahaki Njubi, who used to work as an Assistant Accountant there. She allegedly cooked up the whole scheme together with her husband Griffin Nyakang’o Omwenga and another man called Nehemia Onyunge Kibegwa. Gladys reportedly resigned after the money vanished, but not before the trio had siphoned away the huge sum.
Investigators discovered that Griffin had quietly set up five companies that suddenly started receiving fat payments from National Oil, even though none of them had ever bid for work or done any legitimate business with the corporation. The money flowed for services that simply never happened.
To pull it off without raising eyebrows, Gladys cleverly used real documents from genuine suppliers while slipping in her husband's company names during payment processing. As the one handling payables, she made sure the signatories never spotted the dodgy connections.
Nehemia, who runs Kensons Constructions Limited, also pocketed millions through the same trick, despite his firm having zero history with National Oil.
After wrapping up their probe, detectives sent the file to the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions, who agreed the evidence was solid enough to press charges including conspiracy to defraud, theft by servant, forgery, and handling proceeds of crime.
The three were nabbed on January twenty-eighth and held at Akila Police Station before facing Kibera Law Courts today. They all pleaded not guilty to the serious accusations and have been remanded until February fourth when the court will decide on their bond application.
This case has once again shone a spotlight on the need for tighter controls inside public corporations to stop such clever inside jobs from emptying public coffers. Kenyans are watching closely to see how justice plays out in this multimillion-shilling scandal.
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