Detectives from the Ethics and Anti-Commission Commission (EACC) on Thursday arrested eight senior Bomet County Government officials over embezzlement of Ksh1.5 billion.
The eight who included County Executive Committee Members, Chief Officers, and other senior officials of the County Government of Bomet were arrested following investigative operations conducted in their residences and offices.
According to EACC Spokesperson Eric Ngumbi, the investigations revealed how the suspects engaged in a conflict of interest and embezzlement of public funds to the tune of Ksh1.5 billion through fraudulent payments made to companies owned by the officials, their family members, and proxies.
The suspects were also linked to allegations of abuse of office by obtaining unexplained wealth and theft of Ksh373 million in the procurement of 12 heavy road construction machines and trucks during financial 2022/2023, which the 8 county officers failed to account for.
“The suspects have allegedly abused their positions of trust and authority to embezzle public funds through collusion, procurement fraud, and payments for non-existent or substandard services,” Ngumbi revealed.
Following their arrest, the suspects were taken to the EACC headquarters to record statements but were later released to pave the way for further investigations.
“Today’s operation has yielded valuable evidentiary material that will support the ongoing investigations. Meanwhile, the suspects arrested during the exercise have been released after recording their statements at various EACC and other Government offices,” the commission’s spokesperson stated.
Ngumbi noted that upon completion of the inquiry, the outcome would inform appropriate action including prosecution of any culpable persons and recovery of unexplained wealth or proceeds of corruption.
The move comes barely two days after the anti-graft detectives arrested four senior Taita Taveta County officials who used the pretext of commemorating World War 1 to allegedly embezzle over Ksh7 million from the county government.
EACC officers narrated how the four conspired to forge and falsify some of the documents that were used to account for the money. The commission stated that the suspects were placed in custody at the regional offices in Mombasa for further grilling.
“Four senior Taita Taveta County officials who embezzled over Ksh7 million in the pretext of commemorating World War 1 have been arrested,” detectives from the commission announced.
“The four suspects are currently being escorted to EACC Lower Coast Regional Offices in Mombasa for further enforcement action,” the officers added.
Source: kENYANS.CO.KE