Court orders arrest of Uasin Gishu governor

By Peter Ochieng

Uasin Gishu governor Jonathan Bii and his former deputy, John Barorot are in 'deep trouble.'

The Nakuru High Court on Monday ordered for arrest of the two, after failing to appear in court over an education scholarship scandal that saw parents, guardians and students lose millions of shillings.

Senior Principal Magistrate Peter Ndege ordered the arrest of Bii alias Koti Moja and Barorot, after they failed to appear in court to testify in the Sh1 billion Finland education scholarship scandal.

This is after the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) in 2023, commenced investigations into the alleged embezzlement of Sh1 billion by officials of the Uasin Gishu County Government.

EACC went on to establish that the Uasin Gishu Education Trust Fund Account was opened in May 2021 and by December 2022, Sh957,167,143 had been credited to the account by parents.

Initially, Bii said that he was not in office during the time the account was in operation, pointing fingers at his predecessor, Jackson Mandago who is now the Senator after serving for two terms as governor.

Bii and Barorot were elected in 2022, before the latter resigned last month to take up a job at an International ICT firm.

The court also issued summons for two witnesses in the case, including Mercy Tarus and Joel Koech.

Tarus who is among the students who lost money in the scandal, has since turned into a fierce critic of President William Ruto's Kenya Kwanza administration.