17-year search: DCI on the spot over GK vehicles stolen without a trace

The 17-year search for two stolen GK vehicles of unknown value has exposed the Directorate of Criminal Investigation’s (DCI) lack of agility in solving crimes, as it increasingly confirms fears that government property can simply disappear without a trace.

The two GK vehicles – an Isuzu pick-up GK H604 and a Toyota pick-up GK A589T – belonging to the State Department of Trade were reported stolen on August 27, 2007 and the matter remained under investigation pending the conclusion and recommendations of the cases by the DCI.

The protracted search for the two vehicles has since been flagged by the Auditor-General, Ms Nancy Gathungu, and attracted the attention of the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) of the National Assembly.

The trend of government vehicles disappearing without a trace is confirmed by MPs’ accusations against the DCI in 2022 for taking too long to complete investigations into the suspicious disappearance of a vehicle belonging to the State Department for University Education, more than three years after the matter was reported to the police.

The PAC, a watchdog committee, has questioned whether the investigating agency is committed to unravelling the theft or whether it is time to count the losses at taxpayers’ expense.

“Although management has indicated that the issues are still under investigation and awaiting the conclusion and recommendations of the cases by the investigating agency, the matter has taken an unexpectedly long time to be concluded,” says Ms Gathungu.

Ms Gathungu’s revelations, contained in the audit report on the Department of Trade and Industry’s accounts for the 2021/22 financial year, which is currently before the National Assembly, put Trade Principal Secretary Alfred K’Ombudo in the middle of things.

“The Ministry of Trade has followed up the matter by writing several letters to the office of the Inspector-General of Police. As this matter is still under investigation, the State Department can only await the conclusion and recommendation of the investigating authority,” says PS K’Ombudo in a response to PAC.

The PS’ response did not go down well with PAC members Dr Otiende Amollo (Rarieda), Mwengi Mutuse (Kibwezi West) and Nabii Nabwera (Lugari), who wondered how an investigation could take 17 years without being concluded.

The MPs also openly expressed their frustration after the PS failed to prove that he had written to the Inspector-General on the matter: “The committee is concerned that a matter involving stolen government vehicles has taken over 17 years to conclude. What I want to know is evidence of what you have done,” said Dr Amollo, who chaired the PAC meeting. This came as Mr Mutuse protested the long delay in concluding the matter.

“Investigations into state assets have been going on for so long. Doesn’t that worry you or make you nervous?” asked Mr Mutuse. Although Mr K’Ombudo says he is taking the matter seriously and that his officers have had “physical meetings with the DCI” and that the matter is being looked into, he could not produce minutes to prove that the meetings were actually held.

“You’re not taking the matter seriously,” Mr Nabwera told Mr K’Ombudo, prompting Dr Amollo to instruct the PS to engage the Inspector-General of Police and “detail to this committee within 14 days the action taken.”

The Sh8.36 million State Department for University Education vehicle, a silver metallic Toyota Fortuner GK B193V, was stolen in a carjacking in Nairobi’s Buruburu Estate at about 8pm on August 22, 2019, less than three months after it was purchased.

The vehicle had been assigned to the ACE II project in Naivasha under the Director of University Education.

The loss was flagged by Ms Gathungu in the audited accounts of the State Department for University Education for the 2018/19 financial year. To date, the vehicle has not been found, although the State Department had resorted to sacking the driver who was with the vehicle at the time.