Kenneth Nyundu, the former Director General of the Water Resources Management Authority (WARMA), has been convicted and sentenced to two years in prison for corruption-related offenses. His crimes include forging an employment contract and obtaining pecuniary benefits through false pretenses.
He was charged after allegations surfaced that he had dishonestly obtained over K709,000 in vehicle allowances by falsely claiming to have purchased a Toyota Hilux from Jelumu General Trading Limited.
The prosecution argued that the payments were made based on a forged employment contract, which included unauthorised “net of tax” benefits. Appearing before Magistrate Anna Holland, Nyundu pleaded not guilty, maintaining that his contract was authentic.
He claimed during his defence that no state witnesses provided evidence directly implicating him in the forgery. “None of the witnesses produced documents showing I forged the contract. Instead, they stated that the WARMA legal director had shared copies of the alleged forged contract,” Nyundu argued.
He further criticised the prosecution for failing to summon the legal director as a witness. The court heard testimonies from 11 witnesses, including Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Water Development and Sanitation, Joe Kalusa.
Kalusa testified that discrepancies were discovered between the contract submitted by Nyundu and the original document on file at the ministry.An internal audit revealed irregularities, such as altered clauses that unlawfully added tax-free housing and vehicle allowances.
Efforts by the auditors to investigate were reportedly met with hostility from WARMA management. Audit findings showed that Nyundu had begun collecting vehicle allowances without fulfilling the contractual requirement of making a 30 percent deposit on the vehicle purchase. Despite receiving over K709,000 in allowances by March 2023, no payment was made toward the vehicle.
Magistrate Holland ruled that the prosecution had proved its case beyond a reasonable doubt. She stated, “The accused is the only person who derived a benefit from the forged contract. There is no evidence suggesting that any other individual at WARMA benefited from or was involved in altering the document.”
Nyundu was convicted of forgery, uttering a false document and obtaining pecuniary advantage by false pretenses. The magistrate stated that Nyundu’s actions violated public trust and resulted in financial losses for WARMA, as she sentenced him to six months each for forgery and uttering a false document count, and 12 months for obtaining pecuniary advantage by false pretences imprisonment.
