The Anti-Corruption and Economic Crimes Court has given defendants in a Sh6.1 billion National Youth Service (NYS) civil case 30 days to complete outstanding compliance requirements, citing delays that have hindered progress in the proceedings.
Honourable Velnah Mochache issued the directive on Thursday after the court heard that several defendants had yet to file their statements of defence and other required documents.
The judge expressed concern that the case was still being held up by procedural issues despite previous directions, warning that the matter could not continue to be mentioned without meaningful progress towards a hearing. Mochache said she had intended to mention the case only twice before placing it before a judge for hearing, but the parties had failed to meet the required deadlines.
The suit was filed by the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) against the NYS, Benson Gethi Wangu, who is linked to several business entities, including Highview Trading and Ratego Technologies, and 14 other defendants.
The commission is seeking to recover public funds allegedly lost through fraudulent claims for goods and services that were never delivered to the state agency. The disputed transactions involve payment vouchers numbered 000001 to 002901 covering purported supplies of boots, cooking oil, baked beans, sugar, helmets, T-shirts and fuel between 2013 and 2015.
According to the EACC, procurement records were manipulated, local purchase orders lacked the necessary approvals, and delivery documents were allegedly falsified to support claims for supplies that never reached NYS headquarters or its mechanical and transport branch.
The defendants and some suppliers, however, maintain that the disputed supplies were examined and verified as legitimate by multi-agency committees established to review pending government bills.
During Thursday’s proceedings, the EACC told the court it had fulfilled its obligations and accused the defendants of failing to file their statements of defence since September 21.
The commission also rejected suggestions that it had not adequately explained its request for the production of documents, saying the notice had been filed and served electronically and specified the records required from each party. Its lawyer said nine documents were outstanding, with five required from an interested party and two each from the appellant and the second defendant.
Defence lawyers attributed the delays to the extensive volume of material involved in the case, arguing that reviewing thousands of pages of records was a demanding process. They also raised concerns about access to documents requested from the Treasury, saying the outstanding records and audit materials were necessary to prepare their responses and witness statements.
The defence asked the court for additional time, maintaining that some witness statements could not be finalised until the relevant documentation had been made available for inspection.
In her directions, Mochache ordered all defendants to complete compliance within 30 days, with a separate 14-day deadline for filing outstanding witness statements. The EACC was allowed 14 days after receiving the documents to file its replies.
The matter will return to court on December 8 for a compliance update.
