Two top officials from the National Government Affirmative Action Fund (NGAAF) office in Kirinyaga County have been arrested in connection with a bribery case involving public funds.
The Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) confirmed that its officers arrested the NGAAF county chairperson and coordinator after receiving a tip-off about a suspicious Ksh60,000 transaction.
According to investigators, the bribe was allegedly handed over on July 14 by a contractor seeking fast-tracked payment for goods worth KSh 2.77 million.
It has emerged that the KSh 60,000 was just a down payment part of a larger demand totalling Ksh270,000 made by the two officials in collusion with a procurement officer who has yet to be arrested.
The third suspect has been directed to present himself at the EACC offices in Nyeri on Monday.
The two arrested officials were taken to the Kerugoya Police Station before being processed at the EACC’s Central Regional Offices in Nyeri.
They were each released on a cash bail of Ksh100,000, pending their arraignment at the Kerugoya Anti-Corruption Court.
This arrest comes hot on the heels of another corruption sting at the National Treasury Pensions Department, where four officials were nabbed just three days earlier.
After a two-month undercover probe, EACC detectives apprehended two senior pension officers, a chief clerical officer, and an intern on July 17.
The suspects were reportedly demanding bribes through a mobile paybill number, offering faster processing of pension claims for a price.
Both cases point to growing public outrage over corruption in the provision of public services especially where vulnerable citizens are left to bear the brunt of delayed or denied services unless they oil palms.
EACC says it is also scaling up its investigations into corruption in government ministries and has promised to take tough action against those found culpable.
