Panic as Assembly staff questioned by EACC

Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission chairman Eliud Wabukala in Nairobi on January 5, 2016. [Jonah Onyango, Standard]

Workers at the Nyamira County Assembly are in a panic after anti-graft commission officials questioned 14 people over the tendering of a multi-million shilling office block project.

Before the questioning, Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) officials raided the county assembly offices and took away vital documents on the tender.

The raid came after former Nyamira Senator Kennedy Okong'o petitioned EACC over what he had termed blatant corruption and irregular tendering process of the project that will cost taxpayers Sh379 million.

In his protest, the former legislator petitioned EACC and Director of Public Prosecutions Noordin Haji to immediately investigate how the tender was awarded.

Mr Okong'o called for immediate cancellation of the tender, claiming the whole process was marred by corruption.

Taking bribes

He also hit out at Members of the County Assembly for taking bribes from the purported winner of the tender and challenged them to resign for abetting corruption.

Okong'o said MCAs who were supposed to take a leading role in eradicating corruption had become part of the graft ring.

According to Okong'o, elected MCAs were bribed Sh400,000 while nominated legislators were bribed Sh20,000 so they could favour the winner to take over the project.

An MCA who received Sh20,000 from a county assembly official said she was ready to record a statement and added that the exercise was riddled with corruption.

Among those who appeared before the commission to record statements were Finance Director Leonard Nyamasege, legal officer David Ombego, works clerk Eric Ayuka and Procurement Director Joyce Onyiego.

Others are Scholastica Ombati, Jeremiah Bosire, Linet Nyangau, Janet Onchagwa, Felix Michira, Dominic Momanyi, Alex Agwata, Valerie Ogachi, Enock Nyakundi and Simeon Ondari.

According to an EACC officer who did not want to be quoted, investigations were still underway and more people, including MCAs and other officials, may be summoned to shed light on the matter.

Efforts to get a comment from County Assembly Speaker Moffat Teya were futile as calls and text messages to him went unanswered.

However, after the project had been launched earlier, Mr Teya had said the tender process was "clean and above board".