NAIROBI, Kenya – The Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) has secured court orders stopping the National Youth Service (NYS) from paying out Sh6.16 billion to a group of companies over what investigators say were fictitious contracts for goods that were never delivered.
In a ruling delivered on December 8, 2025, Lady Justice Lucy Njuguna of the Anti-Corruption and Economic Crimes Court in Nairobi issued interim orders restraining the payment of Sh6,167,797,655 pending the hearing and determination of the case.
The orders follow a suit filed by the EACC after investigations uncovered what it described as a coordinated scheme involving NYS officials and private suppliers to defraud the government through forged procurement and accounting documents.
According to court papers, the disputed payments were claimed by companies linked to Ben Gethi Wangui, Elizabeth Wangeci Ngugi and Susan Nyambura Mburu.
The firms include Schoolwork Enterprises, Newtool Mart Trading, Ratego Technologies, Realtool Trading, Comptool Trading, Horizon Limited, Liz Link General Suppliers, Link General, Jimchar Enterprises Limited and Tison Limited.
The EACC said it launched investigations after receiving a report from the Cabinet Secretary for the Ministry of Public Affairs, Gender, Senior Citizens and Special Programmes, who questioned the authenticity of payment claims of about Sh6 billion submitted to NYS by various suppliers.
Investigators allege that six of the companies, listed in the suit as the first to sixth defendants, submitted 277 Local Purchase Orders (LPOs), delivery notes and invoices demanding payment for goods purportedly supplied to NYS during the 2013/2014, 2014/2015 and 2015/2016 financial years.
However, the Commission says the documents were fraudulent and that no goods were ever delivered to NYS central or mother units, inspected, or distributed to sub-units.
Court filings allege that NYS officials — named as the seventh to fifteenth defendants — colluded with the companies to falsify procurement and accounting records, including LPOs, Goods Received Notes (S13), Stock Control Cards (S3), and inspection and acceptance forms.
An analysis of payment vouchers submitted to the EACC revealed multiple irregularities, including missing requisitions, LPOs not signed by accountants to commit funds as required under the Public Finance Management regulations, and documents lacking official NYS stamps.
Investigators further established that most of the LPOs and S13 forms were counterfeit.
Of the documents examined, 248 were not printed by the Government Printer or issued to NYS.
Genuine government procurement documents are produced using a flexographic printing process, while those presented by the companies bore computer-generated characters, pointing to forgery.
Although 29 LPOs were confirmed to have been printed by the Government Printer, they were traced to batches issued to other government institutions, not NYS.
The EACC also cited inconsistencies in delivery notes, some of which failed to indicate quantities supplied, while others falsely showed deliveries that never occurred.
Store records were allegedly manipulated to suggest receipt and distribution of goods, and tender committee minutes attached to some payment vouchers were found to relate to unrelated procurement processes.
The Commission concluded that no goods were delivered to NYS and accused the then Director of Finance, Samuel Mudanyi Wachenje, of abusing his office by signing 245 of the 277 LPOs despite allegedly knowing they were fictitious.
On December 5, 2025, the EACC filed HCACEC Suit No. E049 of 2025 seeking a permanent injunction to bar NYS from honouring the payment vouchers. The court granted temporary injunctive orders three days later.
