A relative of a former senior procurement officer in the Ministry of Local Government implicated in the cemetery land scandal was given Sh100,000 for lunch after he received Sh10 million on his behalf, the anti-corruption court heard yesterday.
Peterson Gichana told court he was given the token after Sh10 million was deposited in his account in 2009 at the request of his relative Boniface Misera.
Misera is on trial alongside former Nairobi mayor Godfrey Majiwa, deputy town clerk Geoffrey Katsoleh and Cephas Kamande over the controversial purchase of cemetery land in Mavoko by the City Council of Nairobi.
They have denied conspiring to defraud the Ministry of Local Government Sh283.2 million through the contentious land deal.
Gichana said he received the cash on February 23, three weeks after Misera requested to use his account.
“He called me in January and told me there was some money he wanted to forward into my account. I gave him my bank account number at Barclays Plaza which has been running since 1997,” he said.
He told trial magistrate Lucy Nyambura that he did not question the transaction because Misera was his relative and a close friend.
When the money was transferred into his account, the witness said Misera called him and they agreed to meet the following day to withdraw Sh5 million. They agreed to withdraw the balance the next day.
He said they withdrew the balance at Barclays Westgate Branch the following day because they could not get it at Barclays Plaza.
He said he handed over the balance to Misera who gave it to former chief finance officer at the Local Government ministry Herman Chavera who had accompanied them to the bank.
At that point, Misera removed Sh100,000 from his pocket and gave it to him for lunch, he said.
During cross examination, Gichana said he did not know who deposited the money.
But he told court the accused had told him that he could not personally receive the millions.
He said Misera was cautious that being a public servant, he would be questioned on how he received the huge amount but the witness was better placed to receive the money since he was a businessman.
He said he only realised there was an issue when KACC called to question him over the money.
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