This archive report was first published on 9 July 2020.
On July 9, 2020, Governor Amason Kingi of Mombasa County testified before the County Public Accounts and Investments Committee, expressing frustration over the recovery of Sh59 million stolen from the county's bank accounts.
The governor claimed that the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) had obtained a court order halting negotiations to recover the stolen funds, which had already resulted in the recovery of Sh8.3 million.
According to Kingi, the county government had reached an out-of-court agreement with the firms involved in the fraud, which had agreed to refund the stolen cash.
However, the EACC intervened and launched an investigation into the matter, which involved more than Sh59 million.
The governor stated that the EACC's actions had stalled the recovery of the stolen funds, and that the county government would have recovered the entire amount if not for the court order.
The alleged fraud occurred in 2016, when hackers gained access to the county's bank accounts by manipulating the electronic money transfer system – Integrated Financial Management System (IFMIS).
They reportedly stole passwords belonging to 10 officials and used them to access the system, transferring the cash from the county's account at the Central Bank of Kenya.
The county's internal auditor flagged the fraud, and the EACC liaison officer attached to the committee, Eve Wachuka, stated that the commission sought the stay order to freeze any negotiations and allow it to investigate the matter further.
