Northern Kenya

EACC arrests senior Garissa County officials in graft probe

Integrity Centre in Nairobi, the headquarters of the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC). (Photo: File)

By Issa Hussein | Tuesday, June 11, 2024

The EACC, which is expected to release a statement on the arrests, is also pursuing several officials from the county Department of Finance.

Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) officers from the North Eastern regional office in Garissa on Tuesday arrested several senior Garissa County officials for the alleged embezzlement of funds and abuse of office.

Those arrested are officials from the Garissa County Secretary's office, the County's Health Services office, and a senior official from the Garissa Referral Hospital.

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According to a senior county official who spoke on condition of anonymity, the EACC officers collected several computers and files from the Governor's office, the health department, the County Secretary's office, and the Department of Finance.

The EACC, which is expected to release a statement on the arrests, is also pursuing several officials from the county Department of Finance.

The arrest comes days after Garissa Governor Nathif Jama appeared before the Senate alongside County Secretary Mohamud Mursal in an investigation into the management of the county without the appointment of chief officers. The Senate was probing why the Governor has been leading the county since 2022 without these principal accounting officers in the devolved departments.

The Senate Committee on Devolution and Intergovernmental Relations also summoned Controller of Budget Margret Nyakang'o, compelling her to explain how funds were disbursed to the county without chief officers. She informed the committee that the devolved units had sent her a list of 12 officers designated as Authority to Incur Expenses (AIE) holders.

The county has since appointed the 40 chief officers. They are currently being vetted by the Garissa County Assembly.