West Pokot top county officials arrested in maize scheme
West Pokot County Secretary Dr Michael Parklea who was arrested by anti-corruption detectives on July 8, 2019 along with three other senior officials in Kapenguria. PHOTO | OSCAR KAKAI | NATION MEDIA GROUP
What you need to know:
- County Secretary Michael Parklea, three other accused of irregular purchase of 20,000 bags of maize.
West Pokot County Secretary Michael Parklea was on Monday morning arrested together with three other senior county officials by Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) detectives over irregular purchase of 20,000 bags of maize last year.
The others are Ms Alice Jepkosgei (procurement officer), Mr Elvis Mwanga (ICT officer) and Mr Titus Mayech (county voucher inspector).
The officials were picked up by the detectives in Kapenguria town and taken to the agency’s offices in Eldoret where they were questioned for hours.
They are expected to be arraigned on Monday afternoon or Tuesday morning.
The officials have been accused of inflating the prices of the maize.
Close to Sh90 million was said to have been spent on the maize that was to be stored in county stores at Kacheliba town.
West Pokot Governor John Lonyangapuo confirmed the arrests.
EACC officials based in Eldoret said they would issue a statement on the arrest later.
