Former Tourism Cabinet Secretary Najib Balala has been arrested following a raid conducted by the officers from the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC).
Najib was arrested alongside then PS Leah Gwiyo for the alleged fraudulent acquisition of public funds.
They were arrested on Thursday, December 21 on allegations of procurement fraud related to the Tourism Fund illegally paying Ksh8.5 billion for the setting up of a satellite Utalii College in the coast region.
"The commission has been taking operation and this is after EACC received the concurrent from the Director of Public Prosecution to apprehend and arraign before the court the suspects in this Utalii case. This is a case where the suspects are alleged to have engaged in procurement fraud for the construction of Utalli College, Coast Branch," EACC spokesperson Eric Gumbi stated.
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"So in custody, we have former Cabinet Secretary Najib Balala, the former PS in that Ministry and two other persons. In total, we have 16 suspects and shortly they will transported to the Anti-Corruption Court in Malindi because the matter occurred in that county," he added.
According to EACC spokesperson, Joseph Odero, Managing Partner in a private company called West Consult Engineers, was also arrested alongside Najib and the then Tourism PS.
Moreover, EACC directed the 13 other accused persons to surrender and record statements on their alleged involvement in the scandal.
The EACC recommended five counts of willful failure to comply with procurement laws, as read in conjunction with the Anti-Corruption and Economic Crimes Act 2003, four counts of unlawful acquisition of public property, and one count of abuse of office.
