Police officers in Makueni County on Tuesday, February 27, arrested three Judicial officers suspected of altering court documents.
In a statement released on Wednesday, the National Police Service (NPS) noted that three suspects, including a court assistant, an accountant, and the court driver, were implicated in facilitating the release of suspects from both the court and police cells.
The trio is further accused of conspiring and issuing fake receipts for payment of court fines and forfeitures from accused persons.
“Today, forged receipts amounting to Ksh161,000 were verified and established to have been issued between February 14, 2024, and February 16, 2024,” the statement read in part.
NPS further revealed that the three officers also tampered with traffic cases, where accused persons had pleaded guilty and were fined pending further investigations.
The suspects, currently being held at the Nunguni Police Post, will help with the investigations as the commission strives to uncover cases affected by the illegal acts.
In a similar incident in January, the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission arrested a court assistant at the Makadara Law Courts traffic registry for soliciting bribes.
EACC detectives disclosed that the court official had demanded Ksh400,000 from a complainant to expedite services. Furthermore, at the time of his arrest, he was in the process of acquiring the remaining Ksh350,000 balance.
"EACC has arrested AMH who demanded Ksh400,000 from the complainant with the intent that, in consequence, he would expedite the printing and issuance of court proceedings in respect to the complainant's court file," the Commission noted.
EACC has in recent months tightened the noose, in efforts to crack down on certificate and document forgery within the public service and other institutions.
On Tuesday, five brothers employed within the Kwale County administration were arrested for forgery of documents. These documents were allegedly used to award tenders to family-owned companies.
According to the Commission, the money obtained, totalling Ksh48.9 million, was divided among the suspects, who had allegedly exaggerated the tenders to benefit the companies.
