Deputy Chief of Protocol in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs among the suspects implicated in fraud that saw him pocket millions of shillings.

Friday, November 15, 2024 - Following the conclusion of an inquiry into allegations of forgery and conspiracy to commit a felony implicating the Deputy Chief of Protocol at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and two others, and the subsequent approval for their prosecution by the Director of Public Prosecution, the three have been arraigned at the Kibera Court.

Since March 2023, the U.S. Embassy in Kenya has cooperated with the DCI inquiry into the origins of several falsified diplomatic notes that emanated from the Ministry of Foreign and Diplomatic Affairs, which were signed and released by the said Deputy Chief of Protocol, Mr John Kyovi Mutua.

The documents, which sought entry visas to the United States of America for 19 officials from CBK - 4, MFA - 10 and 5 from the Ministry of Transport and Infrastructure, Public Works, Housing and Urban Devt, were presented to the U.S. Embassy Consular Section Nairobi as official documents by a clerk at the Immigration Protocol Office, Mr Elvis Bikundo.

After due diligence, the Embassy had reasons to believe that some of the individuals mentioned were not actual Government of Kenya employees, thereby inviting the DCI for an in-depth probe.

A thorough investigation uncovered that the two MFA officials (Kyovi and Bikundo) were aided by a third accomplice, a civilian, in a scheme that generated tens of millions of shillings in profit.

In the elaborate scheme, only six (6) out of the 19 individuals listed for consideration for U.S. visas and subsequent travel to Washington DC, Los Angeles, New York and San Francisco, were legitimate employees of the GoK.

The other 13 were the suspects' means to living large, each channeling up to Sh600,000 to the bank account of the third suspect (Gared Keburi).

Having verified the documents with the Forensic Document Examination Dept and confiscating the passports in question, the investigators preferred appropriate charges that were agreeable to the ODPP in its independent review of the facts and evidence in support.

Upon arraignment today at the Kibera Court no. 8, the three were each granted a cash bail of Sh50,000.

The DCI assures all embassies and high commissions in the country of its readiness to provide prompt assistance in criminal investigations, of any persons or entities that jeopardize the integrity of diplomatic notes and official visas, given the criticality of the documents in fostering trust between governments, facilitating effective diplomacy and maintaining accountability.

The Kenyan DAILY POST.