From office messenger to Multi-millionaire

FROM SUPPORT STAFF TO MILLIONAIRE: THE STORY OF ELVINE LEWARE MACAGER

Earning a monthly salary of Ksh 16,772 working at the National treasury from 2014 to 2017, Elvine Leware Macager was nothing more than a support staff. He was married to one Violet Akinyi, had three children and lived in Milimani, Kitengela.

Unlike his salary, Elvine’s life was one of opulence. He travelled to Dubai, had high end vehicles including two range rovers and a Mercedes Benz. He further had apartments in Githurai, owned a prime rover and was an astute business man in his own right.

He was living a luxurious life together with his wife Violet, his girlfriend Faith Boyani, his brother and close business associate Xyln Wyllys Omonge and other family members who were all involved in the ‘family business’. Eventually he left the job at the National Treasury, to ‘focus on his business interests’, though sources say it is because he heard that investigators were trailing him.

At the time Elvine was busy working and earning less than Ksh 20,000 a month, the State Department for Water and Regional Authorities was losing money in fraudulent payments for consultancy services. From 2014 to 2017, this State Department lost Ksh 605Million. The State Department for Sports Development, in the Rio De Janeiro Olympic scandal would later top up Ksh 130Million in suspect payments in 2017.

All these payments had Elvine Leware Macager as the final beneficiary where he was the director to more than 10 companies that were busy trading with these State Departments. Unlike many scandals that have the push and pull of senior staff, Elvine’s known ties were to a former principal accounts controller who vied and lost for a Member of Parliament seat in Bomachage Chache Constituency.

How did this obscure low cadre staff at the National Treasury earning less than Kshs. 20,000 a month become a millionaire?

Trading with at least 18 companies, Leware provided various consultancy services to the State Department of Water and Regional Authorities. In September 2014 trading with Beachetts Services, he received Ksh 27,800,000 for consultancy services for the construction of an abattoir. With no known skills in construction or veterinary medicine and with no proof of any consultancy service offered, a total of Ksh 103,360,100 was wired to Beachetts Services from April 2014 to December 2016.
What is perplexing is that one of the payments of Ksh 27,200,000 was never captured in the IFMIS system.

In October 2014, trading with Ndegwil Insights and Services, he was paid Ksh 42,500,000 for consultancy services on resource utilization. This was a second payment to the company; a first payment of Ksh 19,600,800 having been received in July 2014.

So broad and knowledgeable was Elvine that using Endlevel Services he provided consultancy services on youth employment at Ksh 38,080,000, and later Consultancy Services on poverty mitigation valued at Ksh 43,200,000 trading with Vilekat Information in November 2014. Later in March 2015, Endlevel Services received Ksh 29,300,000 while Vilekat Information received Ksh 43,150,700 all for the provision of consultancy services. The details of these services are not elaborated casting doubt on the payments.
That same November 2014, his company, Waveline Consultancy received Ksh 22,950,000 for consultancy services on best practices on RDAs and in March 2015 another Ksh 33,650,000 for consultancy services that are not elaborated.

Machira Limited, a company Leware incorporated in September 2014, received Ksh 35,054,573 for the Kimira Oluch Smallholder Farm Improvement Project (KOSFIP) project. The earliest payment of Ksh 10,694,084 was received in November 2014, begging the question when he tendered for the project or what he was paid for. KOSFIP is a multi-billion project implemented in Karachuonyo and Rangwe Constituencies. He further invoiced a payment of Ksh 35,960,000 for consultancy services on recycling industrial waste in North-Eastern Kenya using Inktrauss Global limited in June 2015. It is doubtful if this payment went through.

However, Inktrausss Global limited received Ksh 15,540,992 for Rio Olympic Expenses in June 2016 and another Ksh 8,684,672 for air travel expenses from the State Department for Sports Development. Several other air travel expenses were paid out to his other companies including Kikagen Limited and Profound world systems resulting to a total of Ksh 130Million.

Although investigators are on his trail, the slow pace of investigations mean that Leware is still a free man, enjoying his ill-gotten wealth. Curiously, the properties he currently holds amount only to a little over Ksh. 100 million. The rest of the nearly Ksh. 500 Million of taxpayers’ money cannot be traced in his accounts or his personal property, begging the question of whom the other beneficiaries of this grand corruption scheme are. And if investigators do not round up his case quickly, then this money too may be long disappeared by the time they arrest him, with little trace and little hope of recovery.