The Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission - EACC has exposed five county officials who colluded with other staff to loot from the public coffers cash amounting to Ksh196 million.
According to EACC statement dated Wednesday, September 28, the five suspects orchestrated the scheme by gaining access to county funds and then wired to their own accounts.
The suspects allegedly worked in the Finance and Economic Planning Department. In a well-choreographed scheme, anti-graft agency says, they reportedly built a network in collaboration with proxies that siphoned public money and shared it among themselves.
"The fraudulent payments were made into the personal bank accounts of the five-county officials on diverse dates between 2019 and 2022," EACC statement read in part.
"The Commission’s preliminary investigations show that the five officials received the funds in their personal bank accounts," EACC added.
The five allegedly distributed the money amongst themselves, with each receiving Ksh48,697,530, Ksh30,452,715 and Ksh46,971,100
Others pocketed Ksh20,432,965 and KshKsh49,462,600 respectively.
To enable the anti-graft body to get to the bottom of the matter, they have asked the county secretaries to submit all relevant payment vouchers for analysis.
The investigation is expected to inform various actions, including the recovery of the lost public funds and criminal prosecution of those found culpable.
"Failure to submit documents required for corruption investigations is an offence under the Anti-Corruption and Economic Crimes Act, 2003," EACC maintained.
This comes just hours after Siaya Senator James Orengo ordered an investigation over the alleged misappropriation of Ksh400 million in a span of 12 days.
Orengo acted after Nation exposed how the taxpayers' money was siphoned. The Senior Counsel added that he noted some financial mismanagement in Siaya county.
The former Siaya Senator maintained that his government will only clear pending bills after receiving an audit report.
"We have stopped payment of pending bills until verification and confirmation save in cases of essential services and emergencies. No procurements are being undertaken nor new contracts awarded until we are done with the application of prompt and effective interventions,' Orengo directed.
