Another County Official Charged in Sh30 Million Tender Case
Duke Onyari, Acting Clerk and Accounting Officer of the Nyamira County Assembly, was charged in court on Friday with alleged violations in a Sh30.1 million procurement contract for the construction of the county assembly office block.
According to the charge sheet, the charges stem from his arrest on June 2, 2026, in Nairobi, after which he was transferred to Kisii, processed, and freed on Sh200,000 cash bail pending a plea.
He was later admitted to Bosongo Medical Centre on June 4 and released on June 11, 2026, before being re-arrested the same night and kept at Kisii Central Police Station until his arraignment.
Onyari was arraigned before Principal Magistrate Christabel Agutu at the Kisii Law Courts, where he faced a count of abuse of office contrary to Section 46 as read with Section 48 of the Anti-Corruption and Economic Crimes Act (ACECA).
Nyamira County Assembly Clerk Duke Simeon Onyari arrested by the EACC over alleged corruption linked to the loss of KSh 30 million in the construction of the County Assembly office block.#EACC #NyamiraCounty #CorruptionWatch #KenyaNews #getembedigital pic.twitter.com/MSykkzoWtp— Getembe TV (@GetembeTV) June 3, 2026
“On 13th June 2018, at Nyamira County in the Republic of Kenya, being the Acting Clerk and the Accounting Officer of the County Assembly of Nyamira used your office to improperly award a tender Number CAN/T/027/2017-2021 for the proposed construction of the Nyamira County Assembly office block to Jetta Builders Ltd, which was not the lowest evaluated bidder, thereby conferring a benefit of Sh30,187,396/= to Jetta Builders Ltd,” the charge sheet reads.
He was also charged with willful failure to comply with procurement procedures contrary to Section 45(2)(b) as read with Section 48 of ACECA.
“On the 13th day of June 2018, in Nyamira County within the Republic of Kenya, being the Acting Clerk of the County Assembly of Nyamira and the Accounting Officer thereof, and being a person charged with the responsibility of ensuring compliance with the provisions of the Public Procurement and Asset Disposal Act, 2015, you wilfully failed to comply with the law relating to procurement, to wit, Section 86(1)(a) of the Public Procurement and Asset Disposal Act, 2015, in that you awarded Tender No. CAN/T/027/2017–2021 for the proposed construction of the Nyamira County Assembly Office Block to Jetta Builders Limited, notwithstanding that the bidder had not submitted the lowest evaluated responsive bid,” read the charge sheet.
#EACC has arrested Nyamira County Assembly Clerk Duke Simeon Onyari & approved charges against 5 other officials over a Ksh 30.1M office construction tender scam awarded irregularly to Jetta Builders Ltd. Remaining suspects ordered to surrender.#LegalExpressKenya pic.twitter.com/niGlXcC2gz— Legal Express Kenya (@Legalexpresske) June 4, 2026
The prosecution listed several witnesses expected to testify in the case.
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According to the charge sheet, the witnesses include Kennedy Arasa Nyaberi, Daniel Oginda Orina, Bernard Nixon Omenta, Jeremiah Mokua Bosire, and Augustine Mukwekwe, among others, to be stated during the trial.
The accused pleaded not guilty to both counts.
In her ruling, Principal Magistrate Christabel Agutu ordered that Onyari be released on a cash bail of Sh400,000 or a bond of Sh1 million with a surety of the same amount.
The court also directed him to deposit his passport by June 15, 2026.
The matter will be mentioned on June 29, 2026, for possible consolidation with a related case before the Keroka court.
The hearing has been scheduled for August 18, 2026.
Another County Official Charged in Sh30 Million Tender Case
