Taita Taveta County Clerk Arrested Over MCAs’ Ksh.17M ‘Bonding’ Trip
On Friday, April 26, the Taita Taveta County Assembly clerk was taken into custody by detectives from the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) due to his suspected role in a corruption case involving Ksh17 million.
The arrest occurred after a High Court decision in Voi dismissed a case filed by the clerk against the EACC and ODPP, which aimed to prevent his arrest and prosecution.
On April 25, Justice George Dulu refused to approve the orders sought by the county official, allowing his prosecution to proceed.
A county official is one of those alleged to have misused funds in connection with a bonding trip taken by 21 MCAs to Zanzibar in 2022.
The EACC detectives reported that their investigations revealed that Ksh17 million was misused on an international trip.
From the total amount, Ksh9 million was allocated directly to the organizers for logistical purposes, while Ksh8 million was given to 30 officials, including 21 MCAs, as interest payments.
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“The County Assembly used forged documents to account for the fraudulent expenditure. The officials were overpaid while some of those who received allowances did not travel,” the EACC detectives noted.
After being arrested, the suspect was taken to the EACC Mombasa Regional Offices for processing before being brought to court.
“The Clerk faces graft charges alongside the Deputy Speaker Mwadime Chao who has since pleaded not guilty to charges,” the detectives stated.
The action follows the day after EACC CEO Twalib Mbarak issued a strong caution to county officials suspected of engaging in corruption.
During the Commission’s workshop, Mubarak mentioned that multiple high-ranking county officials, including a governor who was also a lawyer, had come under the Commission’s scrutiny for engaging in fraudulent activities.
“Yesterday the noise they made one of the people there was a governor and his county is on our red flag so you can tell that lawyer-cum-governor we may end up in his place very soon,” Twalib Mbraka stated.
Taita Taveta County Clerk Arrested Over MCAs’ Ksh.17M ‘Bonding’ Trip