NYS Scandal: Church Elder Selesio Karanja Handed Four-Year Jail Sentence by Nairobi Court

A Nairobi court has handed a four-year jail sentence to a suspect linked to the first National Youth Service (NYS) scandal.

In his ruling on Thursday, Chief Magistrate Lawrence Mugambi has found the suspect, Selesio Karanja guilty of fraud.

The judge has sentenced him to four years in prison with an option of paying a fine of Sh4 million and barred him from ever holding any other public office.

Karanja, who is a church elder, was a supply chain assistant at NYS at the time millions of shillings were looted from the youth agency.

The court has convicted him with a fraudulent practice involving a tender valued at Sh47.6 million.

Justice Mugambi rules that Karanja “betrayed public trust which he was to safeguard by engaging in corrupt practice to manipulate procurement of goods at a public entity.”

"Although he is a church elder, the honor bestowed by the church, he is expected to be a person of integrity and not to be involved in criminal act acts of fraud perpetrated by the smacks of dishonesty in the discharge of his public duties."

He had been charged alongside former Devolution Principal Secretary Engineer Peter Mangiti and 23 others, who were all found not guilty. The NYS lost Sh791 million in the first scandal.