Public Service Cabinet Secretary Geoffrey Ruku has announced plans to transform the National Youth Service (NYS) into a commercially active entity.
Speaking on Wednesday, November 12, Ruku noted that the government is in the final stages of approving regulations and registering the National Youth Service Enterprises and Services Company, which will serve as the commercial arm of NYS’s commercialization agenda.
The move comes months after the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) launched a major operation targeting senior NYS officials accused of embezzling Ksh2 billion in public funds.
Public Service CS Geoffrey Ruku has unveiled a proposal to turn the National Youth Service into a profit-generating entity. Photo: Courtesy.
In a statement on May 7, the anti-graft agency conducted searches at the residences and offices of the implicated officers and their alleged proxies in a sweeping move to gather critical evidence.
The EACC confirmed the search was part of ongoing investigations into massive corruption at the NYS, particularly at its Gilgil Paramilitary Academy.
The EACC investigation targets several senior National Youth Service (NYS) officials, including Deputy Commandant General Nicholas J. Makokha, Head of Supply Chain Management David Muthee Mbogo, and Camp Accountant Joseph Maina Kagiri from the Gilgil Academy.
Also under scrutiny are individuals linked to the suspects, among them family members and close associates believed to have benefited from the alleged scheme.
The probe focuses on claims of conflict of interest, procurement fraud, and abuse of office, with investigators alleging that the officials diverted public funds through collusion and fictitious contracts worth Ksh2 billion between the 2019/2020 and 2024/2025 financial years.
