Busia Senator Okiya Omtatah has written to the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) demanding urgent investigations into claims of massive corruption within Busia County, which he alleges has resulted in a loss of Ksh5.2 billion.
In a letter dated August 25, 2025, the Senator formally petitioned the anti-graft body to launch criminal investigations against county officials and other implicated individuals, following what he described as a systemic looting of taxpayer funds.
Omtatah explained that the claims were anchored on a fraud audit report that he commissioned and released in July 2025. The document analysed the Auditor-General’s Report on Busia County Executive’s Financial Statements for the year ending June 30, 2023, alongside other related documents.
The Senator alleged that the report exposed deliberate manipulation of financial systems, including the use of duplicate Integrated Financial Management Information System (IFMIS) account codes and unauthorised expenditures.
He further pointed to inflated budgets by Ksh1.4 billion without lawful approval as a red flag of entrenched graft.
"The report uncovers systemic fraud, including the use of duplicate Integrated Financial Management Information System (IFMIS) account codes, unauthorised expenditures, inflated budgets by Ksh1.4 billion without legal justification, and other financial irregularities that point to deliberate misappropriation and embezzlement of taxpayer money," Omtatah stated in his letter.
According to Omtatah, county officials failed to prepare and submit individual departmental financial statements as required by Article 226 of the Constitution and the Public Finance Management Act. Instead, the County Executive Committee Member for Finance and Planning presented consolidated accounts unsupported by departmental figures.
He argued that this concealment created accountability gaps that ultimately left Ksh5.2 billion unaccounted for, in what he termed as gross financial mismanagement bordering on criminal conduct.
In his petition, the legislator accused senior county officials, including those serving under Governor Paul Otuoma, of presiding over the irregularities.
The lawmaker also described the actions as possible offences under the Penal Code, the Anti-Corruption and Economic Crimes Act, and other laws.
The Senator asked the EACC to summon implicated officials, seize relevant financial records, and conduct lifestyle audits to identify property allegedly acquired through graft.
"Invoke your powers under the Constitution and initiate immediate credible criminal investigations into the matter, including summoning for questioning the relevant county officials, the Controller of Budget, and the Auditor-General, seizing all pertinent financial records, and conducting thorough lifestyle audits to identify unlawfully acquired property," he added.
Meanwhile, the outspoken Senator also accused sections of the EACC of previously abetting corruption in Busia by treating cases with leniency. He, however, expressed hope that the Commission would act decisively this time to safeguard the interests of the public.
He gave the EACC seven days to respond in writing, detailing steps taken or intended to be taken in pursuit of accountability.
