Six government officials based in Nakuru and Eldoret were arrested by detectives from the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) on Wednesday, February 1, over an alleged fake government project.
Reports indicated that the six colluded by forging documents under the disguise of a local company in order to obtain a tender for the construction of the Malaba Water and Sanitation project.
The Technical Evaluation Committee was also faulted for not verifying the qualifications of the contractors of the company who had filed their tender applications.
“The Technical Evaluation Committee members failed to perform due diligence and therefore failed to confirm and verify the qualifications of local company's Contractors who had submitted the lowest evaluated responsive tender,” the source stated.
The six were nabbed after the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (ODPP) recommended their arrest and advocated for them to be charged over the fraudulent tender.
One of the local directors at the company was also ordered to surrender at the Bungoma-based office by the police.
The six are currently being held at the Commission's Bungoma Regional Office as they await arraignment on Thursday, February 2.
Among the charges include willful failure to comply with the law and regulations relating to procurement, neglect of official duty by a public officer, and fraudulent practice in procurement.
In the recent past, EACC has enhanced its commitment to work with the ODPP in combating economic crimes in the country.
Recently, EACC engaged in discussions with the Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI) over a partnership in the fight against graft.
The discussion was based on building capacity for actions in the criminal justice sector.
