EACC arrests 25 Trans Nzoia MCAs as others escape to Uganda

Twenty three MCAs from the Trans Nzoia County Assembly have Monday been charged in Eldoret with obtaining illegal imprests.

Earlier in the morning, detectives from the anti-graft agency rounded up the ward representatives in a raid that saw other MCAs and staff escape arrest.

The detectives were acting on orders from Director of Public Prosecutions Keriako Tobiko to have the ward reps arrested over embezzlement of funds and abuse of office.

The detectives said among those who are currently at large are two MCAs, assembly Speaker David Sifuna, Clerk Aineah Indakwa and other staff members, with some said to have escaped to Uganda.

Among the charges they are facing is the alleged embezzlement of about Sh1.7 million, with each MCA said to have been paid about Sh47,000 to attend the burial of a colleague of theirs who died in 2014.

Interrogations have been going on since the death of then Matumbei MCA Ronald Matongolo in September 2014, when the MCAs and the assembly’s administration allocated themselves the money to “send him off”.

“We are going to ensure that we arrest all the 41 who were on our radar.

“They have all been taken to Eldoret (anti-corruption court) to face graft charges,” an EACC detective who spoke on condition of anonymity owing to his rank said.

NEPOTISM

Top security chiefs in the region including the county commissioner and police bosses kept off as eager locals and journalists jammed the Kitale Police Station in search of information on the arrests.

The Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission is currently investigating allegations of nepotism in the assembly with more than 43 employees said to be related to a section of ward representatives, denying locals fair employment opportunities.

There is also a petition by three locals filed at the Employment and Labour Relations Court in Kisumu challenging the way hiring is done by the assembly’s public service board.

Lobby groups in the region have been piling pressure on the MCAs to refund extra money they awarded themselves in sitting allowances after being implicated in a report by the Controller of Budget.

According to the report, MCAs at the assembly earned an average of Sh177,849 per month in the first quarter of the 2015/2016 financial year which was way above the ceiling recommended by the Salaries and Remuneration Commission.

“We want them to refund the funds back to the public coffers because their lavish expenditure is hampering development,” said the area NGO Council’s Regulatory Committee Chairman Richard Lusweti.

The anti-corruption court in Eldoret released them on a Sh200,000 each or a cash bail of Sh150,000.