A fresh battle in the National Youth Service has erupted over an alleged Sh2 billion embezzlement saga.

Two senior NYS officials have sued the NYS council, the Director General, the Attorney General, and Public Service Cabinet Secretary Geoffrey Ruku, claiming that their six-month suspension from the service is illegal and based on fiction.

 Deputy Commandant General Nicholas Makhoha and Senior Superintendent David Mbogo were suspended after the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) moved to court on May 2, 2025, seeking to have them probed for alleged accumulation of illicit wealth amounting to Sh 510 million and Sh 510 million, respectively.

In their separate cases filed before High Court Judge Chacha Mwita, the two senior officials claimed that EACC first sensationally claimed on its X account that they had allegedly embezzled Sh2 billion.

Nevertheless, according to them, the story changed in court papers before the magistrate’s court as it pegged its probe on Sh510 million.

In his case, Mbogo said that Ruku wrote to NYS Commandant-General James Tembur on May 19, 2025, directing him to furnish the CS within five days with evidence of disciplinary action against unnamed officers suspected of conflict of interest and abuse of office.

According to him, Tembur responded that he had not received any formal communication from NYS but went ahead and sent him on compulsory leave.

“Unless this court urgently intervenes, I shall continue to suffer grave violation of my constitutional rights, irreparable reputational damage and economic hardship while the illegality is perpetuated under the guise of lawful disciplinary process, “argued Mbogo.

Mbogo alleged the letter did not indicate that any investigations were being done adding that NYS law does not allow third parties to initiate a disciplinary process.

EACC went after Mbogo and one Winfred Cherotich whom it claimed was his wife. It sought to raid Cherotich’s residence in Runda, another home in Murera, Njairi in Embu, NYS staff quarters and NYS Gilgil procurement stores department office in Nakuru County, and offices in Mavvel Hotel, Embu town, together with Nairobi Panache Store, Ngong Road.

However, Mbogo said Cherotich was not his wife but they had two children together.

“The second respondent is not and has never been my spouse. We have a personal relationship resulting in us having two children, but no marital relationship existed between us. Any insinuation of spousal affiliation as set out in the warrants and also in other communication by the applicant is therefore false and misleading,” he claimed.

Mbogo said he served as a storekeeper within NYS until April 17 this year, when he was appointed as the head of supply chain management at NYS Gilgil.

He said that at the time the warrants were issued, he had served for 21 days only.

On the other hand, Makokha said that the EACC never disclosed where they got the allegations from.  

While terming the allegations as unfounded, the officer argued that he came to know about the same on X and through Tembur’s letter.

He asserted that Ruku initiated the process, culminating in multiple violations of the law.

According to him, the person who ought to be in charge of the NYS oversight should be the Cabinet Secretary for Youth Affairs, Creative Economy and Sports Cabinet Secretary Salim Mvurya.

He said that Tembur acted from external pressure, which was illegal and led to adverse administrative action.

“The petitioner avers that his suspension is illegal, null and void as it tramples upon the most hallowed principles of natural justice, the Constitution, the Fair Administrative Action Act, NYS Act and Public Service Act,” argued Makhoha.

The two want the court to quash the suspension letter and order that NYS expunge from its records all adverse entries from the contested suspension.