Uasin Gishu Senator Jackson Mandago and his co-accused were arraigned in court on Thursday, August 17, 2023, over charges related to the Finland and Canada scholarship saga.
Senator Mandago and the three ex-officials of the Uasin Gishu county are accused of conspiring to steal Sh1.1 billion from a Kenya Commercial Bank account in Eldoret registered under the Uasin Gishu Education Trust Fund.
The three ex-officials include Joseph Maritim, Meshack Rono, and Joshua Lelei, however, Maritim is currently out of the county according to reports.
In her ruling, the Nakuru court Senior Principal Magistrate Alloyce Ndege postponed plea-taking for the senator and his co-accused, citing the absence of the fourth suspect.
They were released on a bond of Ksh.2 million shillings with a surety of the same amount or a cash bail of Ksh.500, 000.
The officials were arrested on Wednesday and grilled by the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) before being transferred to the Central Police Station in Nakuru East where they spent the night – this after they failed to show up in Nakuru court for plea-taking.
The Finland scholarship ‘scam’ saw the monies paid by parents for the children to enroll in the program being used to pay for students already in the program to sit for their following semesters.
Parents demanded to know where the money went and demanded immediate refunds because their children never traveled abroad as intended.
Meanwhile, President William Ruto has assured the victims that the government will facilitate them with local scholarships immediately after investigations into the saga ends.
He made it clear that everyone involved in the scandal will be held to account