NAKURU, Kenya – Families affected by the Uasin Gishu County Finland Education Programme have renewed calls for justice after a Nakuru court acquitted Uasin Gishu Senator Jackson Mandago and his co-accused in the Sh1.1 billion scholarship case, saying the ruling does not erase the financial and emotional devastation they continue to endure.
The acquittal of Mandago, former county official Joshua Lelei and former county finance chief Meshack Rono on Thursday, after the court found there was insufficient evidence to sustain the charges against them, has left many parents and students feeling abandoned after years of waiting for answers.
For dozens of families who sold land, resigned from jobs and invested their life savings in the hope of securing overseas education for their children, the judgment has reopened painful memories rather than bringing closure.
Among them is Naomi Chepchirchir, a resident of Racecourse in Uasin Gishu County, who was admitted to the Finland Education Programme but never travelled.
Speaking after the verdict, an emotional Chepchirchir said she had resigned from her job in anticipation of relocating to Finland, only for her dreams to collapse.
“We invested so much in this programme. I did not have a plan B. My dream was to study and come back to help my parents. We have suffered, and depression is real. I trusted the system because this was a government programme. I never imagined it would end up like this,” she said.
Unable to pursue her studies abroad, Chepchirchir is now seeking financial support to enrol in a local institution.
She said watching fellow applicants who secured opportunities elsewhere complete their studies has made the experience even more painful.
“It is very painful because the people we interviewed with have already graduated. Sometimes I ask God why this happened to us. We are a family that prays, yet someone destroyed my dreams.”
Joshua Kipkemboi from Tereshia Village in Ziwa also says the programme permanently disrupted his education.
His mother sold family land and paid Sh1.2 million after he abandoned his journalism degree at Kisii University in preparation for studies in Finland.
Three years later, he remains without a degree.
“By now I would have graduated with a journalism degree from Kisii University, but this issue changed everything,” Kipkemboi said.
His mother, Dorcas Maiyo, said the family sacrificed nearly everything they owned to finance the opportunity.
“We do not have formal jobs. I survive by growing vegetables so that my children can go to school. When we heard about the Finland programme, my husband had no job, so we decided to sell our land. The first piece was not enough, so we sold another one until we raised all the money, including the airfare,” she said.
Another parent, Nicholas Cheruiyot Kemei from Turbo Constituency, sold land worth KSh1.17 million to finance his son’s nursing studies in Finland.
Despite assurances that alternative arrangements would be made, he says the family is still waiting for a solution.
“At my age, I had never held Sh1 million before. That was the first time, and it disappeared just like that. Mr President, you promised that another arrangement would be made for these children to continue with their studies while the case was in court. We are still waiting,” he said.
Mary Kemei appealed directly to Senator Mandago to engage the affected families outside the courtroom in search of an amicable solution.
“We wanted Mandago to speak to us so that we could resolve this matter. If he reaches out to us, we are ready to withdraw everything because we did not take him to court. The case alone will not help us,” she said.
Some affected families also alleged that they have received threats from government officials, although no further details were provided.
The Finland Education Programme was launched by the Uasin Gishu County Government to facilitate students seeking higher education opportunities in Finland and Canada. However, the initiative became the subject of criminal investigations after students failed to secure placements despite making substantial payments.