Kenya Bureau of Standards Managing Director Benard Njiraini and seven others have been charged with stealing the contaminated sugar valued at Sh 20 million.
Njiraini is charged alongside Joseph Kiago Kaguru, Derrick Njeru Kago,Peter Njoroge Mwangi, Crispus Waithaka Macharia, Mohammed Hassan Ali, Abdi Hisri Yusuf alias Blackie and Pollyanne Njeri
The accused persons are charged with stealing and interfering with goods in custom control with removal of 50 kgs bags of condemned brown sugar valued at Sh 20,064,000 intended to be used as a raw material for distillation of Industrial Ethanol, the property of KRA.
The eight are alleged to have committed the offence at Kings Commodities Limited godown at Makongeni, Thika Township within Kiambu County, jointly with others not before court.
According to the prosecution, eight conspired to steal condemned brown sugar valued at Sh 20,064,000 intended to be used as raw material for distillation of Industrial Ethanol, the property of Kenya Revenue Authority.
The accused persons are alleged to have committed the offence on diverse dates between 9th December 2022 and 3rd May 2023 at an unknown place within the Republic of Kenya, jointly with others not before court.
Njiraini is also facing charges of abuse of office. The court heard that Njiraini, being a person employed in the Public Service to wit the Managing Director of Kenya Bureau of Standards, in abuse of the said office, arbitrarily recommended conversion of the condemned brown sugar into Industrial Ethanol through the process of distillation.
Kagur, KRA deputy commissioner Revenue and Regional Coordination is accused of using his office to arbitrarily single source a company trading as Vinepack Limited to convert condemned brown sugar into ethanol without competitive bidding as directed by the Attorney General’s advisory office .
They denied the charges before Chief Magistrate Lukas Onyina and were released on Sh 400,000 cash bail each.
