Detectives from the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) have arrested two suspects for attempting to extort Ksh2 million from a director general of a state corporation.
According to the EACC, the suspects demanded the money with a promise of withdrawing a petition filed in court accusing the Director General of the embezzlement of public funds at the State Corporation.
Their arrest, EACC added, is part of the ongoing crackdown on criminals extorting money from senior government officials claiming to have adverse information against them.
“As part of an ongoing crackdown on criminals extorting money from senior Government officials claiming to have adverse information against them, EACC arrested two suspects, namely Francis Onyango and Abigail Janai,” the EACC statement read in part.
“Following receipt of the complaint, the Commission mounted an operation on Friday leading to the arrest of the two suspects at a Nairobi Restaurant after corruptly receiving Kes1.7 million being part of the Kes2 million they had demanded,” the EACC statement further read.
The commission reported that the two suspects are part of a growing number of litigious individuals in the country posing as public-spirited citizens and passionate advocates for good governance who file petitions against government officials in court and then seek huge bribes to withdraw the cases.
The alleged suspects were processed at the EACC Integrity Centre Police Station and later booked at Kilimani Police Station. EACC has since released them on police bail pending further action.
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Past EACC Cases on Bribery
On July 25, 2024, the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) Central Regional Office in Nyeri arrested an Officer Commanding Station (OCS).
OCS Mary Syombua Mutunga, was arrested after complaints that she was soliciting a Ksh100,000 bribe to facilitate the release of an impounded motor vehicle from the Itabua Police Station.
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EACC stated that the officer was also implicated in case where a bar operator was arrested by four police officers from Itabua Police Station on July 3, 2024, after he reportedly refused to sell them alcohol at 10:00 a.m., which was before operating hours.
They arrested him and his wife and also towed their vehicle to the police station. He was thereafter arraigned at Embu Law Courts on various charges and released on bond.
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Subsequently, when he returned to the Itabua Police Station for his vehicle, the OCS demanded Ksh100,000 before she could release him.
At this point, the complainant reported the matter to the Commission’s offices in Nyeri town, where he recorded a statement.
Investigations established that the OCS had demanded the bribe. On July 11, 2024, she sent an agent to pick up the money on her behalf, after which the Commission officers swung into action and arrested her.
This suggests a daily increase in bribery cases, involving both government officials and the public.
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