By Marion Mwange and Joel Muinde
The family of MP John Waluke is now pleading for financial assistance from the public to raise the huge fine imposed by the court to keep the Sirisia lawmaker from prison.
Waluke’s wife, Roselyn Waluke, urged well-wishers on Sunday, June to channel their donations on phone even as the family races to get an M-Pesa Paybill number.
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“You are aware of our problem and I thank those who have stood with us during this challenging time and kindly continue praying for us. We are requesting for your financial assistance. Kindly channel your financial support to my number 0728732542 as we wait for an M-Pesa Paybill number,” said the MP’s wife.
The MP is in prison following his sentencing on Thursday, June 25, when the Anti-Corruption Court in Nairobi fined him Sh727 million for the five counts he was convicted of in the Sh297 million National Cereals and Produce Board (NCPB) maize tender scandal.
Waluke was sentenced alongside his co-accused Grace Wakhungu by Chief Magistrate Elizabeth Juma who said that the offenses they committed were serious.
She said that the two and their firm, Erad Supplies and Contractors Ltd, took advantage of a dire situation at a time Kenya was facing a drought to defraud the NCPB.
Waluke and his company were directed to pay a total fine of Sh727 million for receiving a fraudulent payment from NCPB while Wakhungu was fined Sh707 million.
The MP is one of the "biggest fish" to be caught in the ongoing war on economic crimes in the recent past.
Kenyans had been calling for convictions as proof that the war on corruption is real having been fed-up with numerous headlines of dramatic arrests and investigations that led to nowhere in many cases.
The Judiciary and the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (ODPP) have been under pressure to convict lords of graft.
Waluke's case is major victory for DPP Noordin Haji and the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission.
The cases as filed by DPP Haji who took over the role of top prosecutor in March 2018.
