Sh17 million seized in raids on homes of land agency officials

National Land Commission(NLC) Chairman, Mohamed Swazuri when he appeared before Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) in Nairobi on May 4, 2017 over allegations of corruption and fraudulent schemes in the compensation for land acquired for the Standard Gauge Railway (SGR) project.PHOTO DAVID NJAAGA/STANDARD}

Detectives have seized Sh17 million in raids on houses of top National Land Commission (NLC) officials.

The Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission officials Thursday staged simultaneous raids on the homes and offices of NLC chairman Muhammad Swazuri and other top officials.

The money was found in the house of one of the officials.

The cash, investigators said, was both in US dollars and the local currency. They are now trying to establish its source.

During the raids, the wife of one of the officials collapsed and was taken to hospital. Her blood pressure is said to have shot up after witnessing the manner the raid was executed. 

Children in the affected homes also missed school as they were barred from leaving the compound as their houses were turned upside down by the officers estimated to be more than a dozen.

The officers were armed with an order they had obtained from a Nairobi court authorising the operation.

The officers also took away all mobile phones and even impounded computers, some of which were being used by children.

The money will be used as exhibits if and when there is evidence to link the officials to corruption claims.

Similar raids were also carried out in the officials' rural homes.

Teams of EACC officers shocked the families of Swazuri, NLC vice chairman Abigael Mbagaya, CEO Tom Chavangi,  Valuation and Taxation Director Salome Munubi, director of finance Francis Mugo and his deputy Bernard Cheruiyot, manager Mary Ngundo and a Mr Victor Wahome among others, when they struck at 6am.

The officials took away documents from Swazuri's home saying they facilitate their investigations.

They later took him to EACC offices for grilling before he was released. The detectives later raided the officers' offices later in the day.

Other officials have been summoned to the EACC offices for questioning as investigations into corruption claims gather pace.

There was panic at the NLC offices at Ardhi House as investigators moved from office to office in search of evidence.

Sources said the officials were being investigated after claims of corruption during the Standard Gauge Railway (SGR) land compensation.

EACC Spokesman Yasin Aila said they would forward the file to the Director of Public Prosecutions for action after investigations.

Ms Mbagaya confirmed some officials had been to her Nairobi home but she was away.

"I am out of the city but I am informed some officials came and conducted a search. They did not find anything during the morning incident," she said, adding another team visited her rural home Kakamega.

More officers are under investigation over claims after complaints that some of the payments made were riddled with corruption. Parliament and the police are also investigating the claims.

A parliamentary committee has been investigating Swazuri following complaints by former journalist Mugo Njeru he bribed him to facilitate compensation for his land.

Njeru and his wife Irima accused Swazuri of demanding a bribe of Sh1.2 million before they could be compensated for their land.

The Government acquired the couple's land for the Standard Gauge Railway project.

The petitioner's 80 acres is located off Mombasa Road in Nairobi. The House committee was told the Lands ministry confirmed the journalist owns the land.