NAIROBI, Kenya- Uasin Gishu Senator Jackson Mandago and two former county officials have been acquitted of charges relating to the controversial Sh1.1 billion Finland and Canada education scholarship programme.
The ruling was delivered by Nakuru Senior Principal Magistrate Peter Ndege, who found that the prosecution had failed to prove the case against the three accused beyond reasonable doubt.
Mandago, who served as Uasin Gishu Governor between 2013 and 2022, had been charged alongside former County Executive Committee Member for Education Victorine Bungei and former County Director of Education Edith Cherop.
The trio faced multiple counts linked to the overseas education programme, including allegations of conspiracy to commit an economic crime, abuse of office and fraudulent acquisition of public property.
The prosecution alleged that the county’s Finland and Canada scholarship initiative, valued at about Sh1.1 billion, had been mismanaged, leaving hundreds of students and their families stranded after paying millions of shillings for promised placements abroad.
In his judgment, Magistrate Ndege ruled that the evidence presented by the prosecution was insufficient to sustain the charges against the accused, leading to their acquittal.
The case had attracted national attention after parents accused county officials of collecting large sums of money for overseas university placements that were either delayed or failed to materialise, prompting investigations by anti-corruption agencies and criminal prosecutions.
The acquittal marks a significant legal victory for Mandago, who has consistently denied any wrongdoing, maintaining that the programme was established to expand educational opportunities for students seeking higher education abroad.
Despite the acquittal in the criminal case, families affected by the stalled scholarship programme have continued to seek compensation and accountability over losses incurred during the initiative.