BY ALBERT NYAKUNDI
The Royal Danish Embassy in Nairobi has allegedly failed to resolve corruption and leadership wrangles at the Micro Enterprises Support Programme Trust (MESPT).
Former Board Members of MESPT have accused the Embassy of simply watching as uncontrolled embezzlement of donor funds from Denmark goes on.
MESPT is a joint venture formerly by the European Union and the Government of Kenya.
Denmark took over the donor role from EU in 2002 through its development cooperation agency-DANIDA.
According to the organization’s website, its mission is to support the growth of micro, small and medium enterprises by providing integrated business solutions for sustainable development.
Former Board members at MESPT have protested against the current ambassador H.E Mette Knudsen and her deputy Henrik Larsen for frustrating and interference with the boards’ mandate.
The two envoys have been accused of micromanaging the organization against the Trust’s Deed that mandates the Board to oversee the management of the organization.
By the time of going to Press, the Embassy had not responded to our queries.
Hot News sent an email to the Embassy last Friday.
Hot News is in possession of a protest letter the Board of trustees wrote to the Auditor General of Denmark and copied to the foreign affairs ministry of Denmark accusing the envoys of deliberately failing to intervene in recovering DKK 2.5 million (kshs 37.5 million ) lost fraudulently in 2017.
The letter has been signed by the then Board Chairman Mureithi Kagai and his deputy Jacqueline Manani.
Chair, Audit, Risk and Governance committee Minnie Mbue as well as Chair, Green Growth and credit committee Philip Kisabit also signed the letter sent to Copenhagen.
Other members of the Board that took office in August 2014 were Michael Itote,Jackson Kinyanjui and Elizabeth Matioli both representing DANIDA.
The three were however not party to the protest.
According to the letter dated October 27 2018, the fraud directly implicated the then Chief Executive Officer Priscilla Gathiga.
She was suspended by the Board in October 2018 following an Internal Audit and investigations that started in June 2018 against the wish of the Embassy.
Her suspension was not supported by the Embassy as the two envoys gave contradicting instructions to the Board which says it was determined to unearth fraud at the donor funded outfit.
The CEO formally protested against disciplinary action and sought refuge at the Embassy.
Mr Larsen instructed the Board to suspend disciplinary action against Miss Gathiga without consulting the Board.
The Board’s letter reads in part, “In support of the CEO’s protest and without engagement with the MESPT Board, the Deputy Ambassador Henrik Larsen immediately wrote to the board instructing that disciplinary process should be suspended.”
Larsen argued that the Embassy wanted to independently interrogate the CEO.
This, the Board maintained contravenes MESPT Trust Deed.
A member who spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of intimidation told Hot News that clause 6 of the Trust Deed states that the Board shall be the sole policy and decision making organ of the Trust.
A month later, in unexpected twist of events Larsen gave the Board a go ahead to continue with the disciplinary process but with conditions.
Larsen ordered the Board to proceed on condition that representatives of the founders are present as observers during the disciplinary hearing.
The protest letter says that Larsen said the final position of the Board arising from the process be made in consultation with the founders.
All this time, Ambassador Mette was on leave.
The Board approached her upon her return and protested against her Deputy’s hard stance. Mette revoked the earlier directive and ordered the Board to carry on with the disciplinary process.
This assurance was short lived.
After the board found the CEO guilty of misconduct and corruption, it terminated her employment and surcharged her part of the lost funds.
This did not impress H.E Mette and she was allegedly furious with the then Board Chairman Mureithi Kagai.
“In a briefing, the Chairman of MESPT Board met the ambassador at the Embassy. During this meeting, H.E Mette surprisingly informed the chairman that she was disappointed with the Board’s decision to dismiss the CEO and in fact reprimanded the chairman for this outcome. In addition she further inquired whether at that point of the disciplinary process there was any possibility of settling the CEO’s case in an ‘alternative manner,” the protest letter reads.
The letter indicates that following the nasty relationship, the Board’s contract was not extended upon expiry of its term despite previous assurances from the Ambassador that the members had done a commendable job.
The Embassy wrote to the board informing it that it had been dissolved.
The Board had Mary Waceke Mula as the chair, James Kihara as the vice chairman while Raymond Nyamweya,Mercy Nduku and David Ruchie were board members.
An insider at MESPT told Hot News in confidence that the Board which was chaired by Mary Waceke went against the Ambassador’s wish in naming a favorable acting CEO.
Before the exit Kagai led Board and after suspension of Gathiga , the Board had named Charles Nyawade as the acting CEO in June 2018.
Nyawade was until June 2018, the head of finance at MESPT.
In January 2019, Waceke’s Board sent Nyawade on compulsory leave to allow for investigations .
The Board then appointed Raphael Kuria as the acting CEO in January 2019.
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