Parents and students affected by the Sh1 billion Finland and Canada education programme have renewed their appeal to President William Ruto, urging him to intervene and help the learners pursue their dreams of studying abroad.
The families are asking the President to honour a pledge he made four years ago to help the students secure scholarships after the programme collapsed.
Led by Shadrack Juma, the parents said they would formally write to President Ruto seeking his intervention.
“Even as we fight to recover the money we lost, we plead with the President to help our children secure scholarships so they can continue pursuing their dream of studying abroad,” Juma said.
Their renewed appeal came after the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) on Tuesday declined to open fresh investigations into the Sh1 billion Finland and Canada education programme.
Addressing the affected families, EACC North Rift Regional Manager Kuntai Ole Tingisha said a court in Nakuru had already made a determination on the matter.
He advised those dissatisfied with the outcome to seek redress through the appellate courts.
Tingisha said the matter had initially been investigated by the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI), which has the mandate to handle such fraud cases, and not the EACC.
“Although we received the complaint, after analysing the matter, it was found to fall under the mandate of the DCI, where it was referred,” Tingisha said.
Parents questioned him over the handling of the case, but he maintained that the commission could not reopen the investigations and urged them to pursue legal remedies.
Earlier, some of the affected families staged demonstrations in Eldoret, first marching to the Uasin Gishu county headquarters before proceeding to the EACC offices.
The group, led by Shadrack Juma and other parents, alongside students Brian Kimutai and Asenath Okerio, demanded accountability over the loss of their money.
At the county headquarters, they found the gates closed and were unable to gain entry. They briefly demonstrated along Uganda Road, disrupting traffic.
“It has been four years and we are still suffering. All our leaders, including the President, who comes from this region, have not acted to assist us,” said Asenath Okerio, a student.
She said the programme had shattered the students’ dreams, leaving many stranded at home alongside distressed parents.
Juma claimed some parents who lost millions of shillings in the programme had since died after suffering depression.
