Former (WARMA) Manager Ambuso sentenced to 24yrs in prison or Sh7.6mn fee

NAIROBI, Kenya, 1 February 2019 – James Ambuso, a former finance manager at the Water Resources Management Authority (WARMA), was sentenced to 24 years in prison ten years ago for soliciting and collecting bribes worth Sh910,000.
Senior Principal Magistrate Eunice Nyutu of the Milimani Anti-Corruption Court offered him the option of paying an alternative fine of Sh7.6 million when delivering the sentence.
Nyutu said he had a responsibility to defend public resources, but he did the exact reverse.
“The accused was a public officer when he committed the offence.
He had a duty to safeguard public resources, but he did the opposite and used the resources to benefit himself.
Such actions are to be frowned up and I want to send a strong message to public officers that the use of public recourses for personal enrichment shall not be tolerated,” she said.
Ambuso had been charged with corruptly solicitating Sh445,000 from Geoffrey Mworia to facilitate the disbursement of operations and development funds to WARMA Mombasa Regional office.
He also received Sh160,000 from Simon Wachira Wang’ombe, Sh465,000 from Boniface Mbeu Mwaniki, to facilitate the operations of WARMA Nanyuki regional office and Tana Catchment Area.
He also faced a second count of corruptly receiving a benefit contrary to the Anti-corruption Act where on the same dates, he sent the same amount through MPesa transactions to Mworia through Patrick Masaku as an inducement.
The DPP also accused him of receiving a bribe of Sh465,000 on December 12, 2012, and April ,2013 from Boniface Mwaniki as an inducement.
He was convicted on 4 counts and acquitted in two others counts.