A senior official at the National Youth Service (NYS) strongly denied any association with a hotel in Embu recently raided by anti-corruption detectives over an alleged Sh2 billion scandal.
The Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) on Friday said it had conducted a search at Mavvel Hotel, which it claimed was linked to David Mbogo Muthee, the Head of Procurement at the NYS Training School in Gilgil.
The agency stated that the operation yielded crucial evidence in ongoing investigations into suspected conflict of interest and abuse of office involving senior NYS officials.
However, Mbogo dismissed the claims, accusing the anti-graft body of orchestrating a smear campaign and failing to conclude investigations that began in May 2025.
In a letter dated April 20 and addressed to the EACC’s head of investigations, Mbogo—through his lawyer Onuong’a Makori—terms the Commission’s allegations as “false, misleading, and highly prejudicial.”
“These assertions… are false, misleading, and made in reckless disregard of facts already within your possession,” the letter states.
The lawyer further accuses EACC of engaging in “a deliberate and sustained pattern of harassment, misrepresentation, and abuse of investigative powers.”
To support his client’s position, Makori attached a CR12 document indicating that Mbogo has no ownership stake in the hotel. The document lists Naftali Kiberu as the sole director and shareholder of The Mavvel Place Limited.
Mbogo’s legal team also questioned the legality of the raid, alleging that EACC obtained a parallel search warrant from a Nyeri court despite similar orders having been lifted earlier by the Milimani Law Courts in Nairobi.
According to the lawyer, the procurement boss only served in his current role for 21 days—from April 17, 2025, to May 7, 2025—arguing that he could not have been involved in procurement processes spanning from 2017 to March 2025, which form the basis of the investigation.
“This limited tenure is critical, as the allegations… relate to a period during which our client neither held office nor exercised any authority,” the letter stated.
The defence further notes that previous audits have not raised concerns over the transactions in question and that Mbogo’s predecessor had already recorded statements with investigators regarding the procurement process.
Makori also accused EACC of recycling old allegations for publicity, citing a similar raid conducted in May 2025 that was widely publicised and linked to the same Sh2 billion scandal.
“The publications… are materially identical and no new facts have been disclosed. This demonstrates that the Commission is not engaged in genuine investigation, but rather in recycling allegations for purposes of public sensationalism and reputational damage,” he argued.
Mbogo is now demanding a public retraction and apology from EACC within seven days, to be issued with equal prominence on the Commission’s official X (formerly Twitter) account.
Failure to comply, the lawyer warned, would prompt legal action seeking declarations of constitutional violations, injunctive relief, and damages for defamation and reputational harm.
