Officers from the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) have arrested 11 officials in the Vihiga County Government over the alleged theft of Ksh17 million.
In a statement on its official platforms, the commission disclosed that the suspects allegedly fleeced public funds amounting to Ksh17 million through payments for non-existent works couched under the veil of constructing a Blood Transfusion Centre in Vihiga to help patients requiring blood.
"The suspects allegedly embezzled public funds amounting to Ksh17 million through fraudulent payments for non-existent works in purported construction of a Blood Transfusion Centre in Vihiga to help patients requiring blood transfusion," the commission stated.
The 11 suspects are set to be arraigned before Kakamega Anti-Corruption Court on Thursday, June 13.
"The suspects, who spent the night at Kisumu Port Police Station, are currently being escorted from Kisumu to Kakamega Law Courts to take a plea," EACC said.
The commission ordered the 12th suspect, who is on the run, to immediately report to the EACC Regional Office in Kisumu.
In October 2023, the commission flagged the Vihiga County government after their preliminary investigations showed that there were more than 40 ghost workers on the payroll.
The ghost workers claimed to have been employed between 2013 and 2023.
“The applicant’s preliminary findings have raised a reasonable suspicion that considering that the respondent is not an employee of the County Government of Vihiga, the monies paid in the form of salaries amounts to corrupt conduct,” the EACC told the court.
The High Court froze more than Ksh1.8 million belonging to a woman suspected to have been drawing a monthly salary from the Vihiga County government, yet she is not an employee.
Justice Nixon Sifuna allowed the application to freeze the bank account for six months as the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) investigated her conduct.
The judge prohibited the suspect or her agents from withdrawing or transferring the money from their accounts for six months.
