Detectives launch sting raids against Waiguru in both Nairobi and Kutus
Zadock Angira and Githinji Mwangi
Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) detectives yesterday conducted a simultaneous dawn raid at Kirinyaga Governor Ann Waiguru’s official residence, private home in Nairobi and office in Kutus.
The detectives arrived at Waiguru’s expansive rural residence in Kagio at around 5am when she was still asleep, catching her unawares.
They searched the house before they asked the Governor to accompany them to Nairobi.
As one team left with Waiguru to Nairobi, other detectives proceeded to the County offices.
“The EACC officers carried search in the entire palatial home and everything was turned upside down before bundling the country boss in one of the waiting vehicles,” a source told People Daily.
One team travelled with Waiguru to Nairobi while at least two other teams proceeded to Kutus, the County headquarters where they searched and later took away computers from the offices of the Governor, Chief of Staff and the Chief Finance officer, Patrick Mugo Ndathi.
This was after the Chief Magistrate Nyeri had granted the EACC search warrants against the Governor and other officials of Kirinyaga.
“Our officers have been granted access to several offices and residences with a view to retrieving information that may be useful in the ongoing investigation,” EACC said.
The officers also raided the residence of Waiguru’s Chief of Staff, Sellah Bogonko.
Detectives wanted to seize imprest payments, computers, laptops and ipads used by the chief officer finance and those for Chief of staff, cheques, cheque books, banking details of the officials and any other records relating to the affairs of the officials.
Imprest recipients
“Preliminary investigations further revealed a scheme hatched by the imprest recipients and other officials of the County Government of Kirinyaga aimed at defeating the course of justice by creating false documents in support of the payments,” said part of the court documents.
The media was not allowed inside the palatial home with EACC vehicles parked on the gate and no one was allowed in or out of the highly guarded mansion.
Operations at the county headquarter in Kutus town came to a standstill as soon as the detectives drove in with five vehicles.
The County staff hurriedly left their offices and went home leaving the offices without any personnel.
The EACC chief executive Twalib Mbarak said the probe was about irregular payment of travel allowances totalling to Sh23 million, which were reportedly spent on non-existent trips.
Mbarak said part of the probe was to establish whether the trips were actually undertaken, whether documents supporting disbursement were genuine, and if the imprest was accounted for in full within the stipulated time as per the law.
Later in the day, Waiguru issued a statement noting that even though she wholeheartedly supported investigations on corruption, she was concerned about the manner in which they were being conducted.
“Such investigations must never be about sideshows, politicking and image-shaming.
It is therefore a shock to be woken up by a battery of fully armed officers raiding my house to “look for evidence on imprests,” she said.
She added that investigations into travel imprests were very simple and did not require the ‘sideshows’ witnessed.
Following the raid, scores of youth carrying placards yesterday afternoon took to the streets of Kutus town demanding resignation of Waiguru.
