President William Ruto on Tuesday nominated Faith Njeri Harrison to be the next Principal Secretary for Performance Management in the Office of the Prime Cabinet Secretary.
According to a statement by Chief of Staff Felix Koskei, if approved, Njeri will work to “facilitate transition in the vacancy that has arisen within the ranks of Principal Secretaries.”
However, her dubious past is bound to haunt her, especially during the expected vetting by the National Assembly before she is formally appointed to that office by President Ruto.
On April 26, 2019, Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) sleuths nabbed the then Kiambu County Chief Finance Officer with 670 fake US dollars in 100 bills on the car seat and Sh50,000 in her bag.
According to DCI’s Special Crimes Police Unit (SCPU), the then county officer and her driver Harrison Kungu were nabbed along Mpaka Road in Parklands on suspicion of having fake vehicle registration numbers.
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“Detectives yesterday intercepted a Motor Vehicle along Mpaka Road in Parklands on suspicion of having Fake registration numbers and arrested two suspects; Ms Faith Harrison and Mr Harrison Kungu. Documents in their possession showed different registration,” said DCI then in a post on social media.
DCI then added, “A quick search of the vehicle recovered cash, several US Dollars. The two suspects both denied that they owned the cash that was found in the vehicle.”
Njeri and Kungu were charged at Kibera Law Courts with illegally being in possession of 670 “papers upon which words and figures letters and lines printed as 100 denomination of dollars of United States of America.”
The potential PS was also charged that on the same day “not being her place of abode, she had with her an article for use in the course of or connection with cheating namely fake dollars.”
They both denied the charges and Njeri was released on a Sh1 million bond with a surety of the same amount or a Sh200,000 cash bail, while Kung’u was freed on a Sh200,000 bond or a Sh20,000 cash bail as they waited for the hearing and determination of the case.
Similarly, Njeri was also linked to a case in which Ferdinand Waititu was accused of receiving more than Sh30 million in kickbacks while serving as Kiambu Governor leading to his ouster.
In July 2019, she was arrested after she made startling revelations on the rot in Kiambu County claiming Waititu used his family members and proxy firms to secure tenders.
During his Senate ouster in 2020 for allegedly embezzling Sh588 million, Waititu accused Njeri of being county officers who conducted transactions that landed him in trouble.
Ruto nominated Njeri after sacking Health PS Josephine Mburu over the bungled Sh3.7 billion tender for treated mosquito nets at the Kenya Medical Supplies Authority (KEMSA).
