(Bloomberg) -- The chief executive officer of Kenya’s monopoly power distributor handed himself over to authorities investigating corruption allegations.
The probe into alleged graft at the state-owned company forms part of a widening crackdown ordered by President Uhuru Kenyatta earlier this year. His administration is seeking to improve controls over public funds to help finance last month’s record budget.
Kenya Power & Lighting Ltd. CEO Ken Tarus surrendered at the headquarters of the Directorate of Criminal Investigations on Sunday after a warrant was issued for his arrest, the office said in a tweet. He’s being held at Muthaiga Police Station in the capital, Nairobi, it said.
The Office of the Director of Public Prosecution on Saturday ordered the arrest of several senior staff at Kenya Power after investigations into various tenders at the company. Detectives already detained former Kenya Power CEO Ben Chumo and two other officials “on suspicion of committing offenses of economic crime,” the office said.
Tarus, Chumo and nine senior Kenya Power managers denied more than six charges of economic crimes, abuse of office and conspiracy to defeat justice at a Nairobi court on Monday, Daily Nation newspaper reported on Twitter.
Kenya Power shares fell 0.8 percent to 6.50 shillings, the lowest in a month.
“Expect short-term shocks on price due to this news,” Gerald Muriuki, an analyst at Genghis Capital Ltd. in Nairobi, said by phone.
The utility’s board fired Tarus, Nairobi-based K24 Television reported on Twitter, without saying how it obtained the information. An acting managing director will be named on Monday, Chairman Mahboub Maalim said in a text message in response to questions.
“We can’t technically do it before the accused takes a plea,” he said.
(Updates with court case in fifth paragraph.)
To contact the reporters on this story: Bella Genga in Nairobi at bgenga2@bloomberg.net;David Herbling in Nairobi at dherbling@bloomberg.net
To contact the editors responsible for this story: Paul Richardson at pmrichardson@bloomberg.net, Helen Nyambura
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