Devolved units are keeping the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) busy, with nine governors on its radar in ongoing nationwide crackdown on corruption.
EACC chairperson Dr. David Oginde revealed on Tuesday that the commission is investigating several counties riddled with graft, with governors leading in the embezzlement of public funds.
“We are pursuing quite a number of governors at the moment; nine are under scrutiny at different levels of the cases. It’s not just governors, it goes down to other county staff,” he told Citizen TV. “Counties are what are keeping us busy right now.”
He highlighted some of the ongoing investigations, saying, “In Nairobi, we have this junior official we are pursuing over Ksh500 million.”
Oginde also pointed to a recent case in Busia County, noting, “Last week we arrested six officials of Busia County over Ksh1.4 billion.”
Dr. Oginde disclosed that some of the counties under investigation are in marginalized regions, where elected leaders allegedly divert county resources to make investments in Nairobi.
He warned that this greed for county funds has deeply undermined development in the affected areas, leaving residents deprived of essential services and infrastructure.
“I have been surprised that some of the worst-hit counties are those that are considered marginalized. They have been given privileges to try and bring the county up but the leaders in those counties are syphoning that money and bringing it back to Nairobi to buy apartments and start businesses,” he noted.
He explained that investigations have uncovered a scheme in which high-ranking county officials use junior officers as proxies to transfer embezzled funds to their personal accounts.
One of the most common methods of looting, Dr. Oginde stated, is through tendering, where individuals form companies to do business with counties and they intentionally overprice their bids. He pointed out that the commission has a tall order in combating corruption due to political protection given to the individuals involved, rendering prosecution of the looters an uphill task.
“We have had situations where we arrest senior people and even the day they are coming to record statements, our offices are raided by their supporters,” he said.
Dr. Oginde lamented that the politicization of corruption has crippled efforts to combat the vice for decades.
“Our counties can only grow when every shilling is spent on what it was allocated for,” he asserted.
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