This archive report was first published on 3 July 2019.
On July 3, 2019, Auditor General Edward Ouko revealed a shocking Sh1.8 billion scam by Kenya Prisons department, with retired Commissioner General Isiah Osugo at the center of the scandal.
According to Ouko's report, the scam involved payments to phony suppliers, double payments for goods and services, and the procurement of fake bulletproof vests and jackets.
Osugo, who held the position for over a decade, was accused of swindling Sh12.4 million using forged pending bills for Kisumu Main Prison.
The report also revealed that Osugo's department double-paid non-existent suppliers of Naivasha, Eldoret, and Kakamega Prisons, and Shikusa Borstal, totaling Sh22.5 million.
Additionally, the report exposed cases of double payments totaling Sh22.5 million, with Osugo's department paying bills that could not be traced to the records of the prisons where food rations were allegedly delivered.
Osugo's department was also accused of procuring 300 substandard bulletproof vests and 300 bulletproof jackets for Sh22.2 million and Sh20.9 million respectively.
The audit report also raised concerns over the award of a tender for the construction of a perimeter wall at the Eldoret Prisons for Sh24.8 million, with prisoners engaged to construct the wall despite additional Sh7.5 million being dispatched by Osugo.
