A top media manager has gone into hiding over a multi-million scandal, emerging reports say. The media manager who works for the Radio Africa Group is reported to have gone into hiding for fear of being arrested over the Sh. 122 million scandal at the Government Advertising Agency (GAA).
A report that appears in a local media news site known as Business Today says that top managers at Radio Africa are claimed to be behind a fake company that received part of the looted millions.
“Evidence shows that a company variously known as The Star Publication, Star Publications and Star Publications Ltd received about Sh. 21 million between November 2017 and June this year,” the report says.
The report also says that Radio Africa’s newspaper known as The Star has been facing financial difficulties, with proposals to shut it down having been previously tabled.
“The scandal has seen Lugari MP Ayub Savula, his two wives,Melody Ringera and Hellen Kemboi, former ICT Permanent Secretary Sammy Itemere, former head of the GAA Dennis Chebitwey and administrative secretary Dickson Nyandinga charged in court,” the report says. “Others are the GAA Chief Media Buyer Susan Akinyi and another official Tabitha Nyaboke. They all denied the charges and were released on bond.”
It explains that Savula is the director of the seven firms that were also charged with the same offenses including the The Sunday Publication Ltd, which received Sh. 28 million.
“However,The Sunday Publishers, which produces the Sunday Express, says it has no links with The Sunday Publications Ltd. Liaison Media which in other entries is shown as Liaison Media Nairobi, received Sh. 2 million. Xtra publishing Ltd, which received Sh. 5 million, is listed as Xtra Publishers Ltd in some schedules,” the report says.
The report, though, did not reveal the identity of the top manager. Subsequently, Bizna Kenya could not verify the authenticity of this report.
