Bomet Governor Hillary Barchok has been charged with seven criminal counts, including conflict of interest and money laundering, in connection with alleged irregular payments tied to county government contracts.
In a statement released on Tuesday, September 2, the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (ODPP) noted that the charges stem from the alleged unlawful acquisition of funds totaling Ksh2 million from a construction company that conducted business with Bomet County.
Governor Hillary Kipng'eno Barchok appeared before the Milimani Anti-Corruption Court on Tuesday where he was formally charged with the multiple criminal counts by the team led by Vincent Monda, assisted by Mercy Gateru, Alex Akula, and Delroy Mwasaru.
According to the prosecution, between November 14, 2019, and March 10, 2021, Governor Barchok unlawfully acquired an indirect private interest amounting to Ksh2 million through his dealings with Chemasus Construction Limited, a company that the County Government of Bomet had awarded contracts.
The court heard that the governor allegedly benefited financially from contracts executed by the construction firm, directly violating procurement regulations and anti-corruption legislation designed to prevent such conflicts of interest.
Read More
“The payments were tied to contracts awarded by the County Government of Bomet to Chemasus Construction Limited, including: Tender Number CG/KRB/006/2019-2020 for the route maintenance of Kimenderit–Kotoibek–Olbutyo Bridge Road, and Tender Number CG/DRPWT/004/2018/2019 for the hire of a grader,” the prosecution noted.
Both contracts were awarded to Chemasus Construction Limited, from which Governor Barchok allegedly received improper financial benefits that constituted a clear conflict of interest under procurement laws.
On or about March 10, 2021, Barchok allegedly received Ksh2 million in his Equity Bank account directly from Chemasus Construction Limited's account.
The prosecution argued that the governor had reason to believe these funds constituted proceeds of crime and money laundering operations, having been irregularly obtained through contracts awarded by his county government to the construction company.
Governor Barchok faces four additional counts of using proceeds of crime through a series of suspicious financial transactions conducted after receiving the initial payment. Between March 15 and March 29, 2021, he allegedly conducted multiple transfers from his Equity Bank account to another account.
The specific transactions included Ksh300,000, Ksh314,000, Ksh100,000, and Ksh750,000 transfers. According to investigators, these transactions were strategically designed to disguise the illicit origin of the funds he had received from the construction contractor.
The prosecution explained that this pattern of financial movements was consistent with money laundering activities aimed at obscuring the criminal source of the funds.
Governor Barchok did not appear in court alone. He was jointly charged alongside Evans Kipkoech Korir, the Director of Chemasus Construction Limited, and the construction company itself.
The prosecution told the court that on March 10, 2021, all three parties coordinated to transfer the Ksh2 million from Chemasus Construction Limited's Equity Bank account directly to Governor Barchok's personal account.
Investigators characterized this financial arrangement as a deliberate conspiracy to conceal the true source and nature of the funds being transferred to the sitting governor.
“Appearing before Principal Magistrate Ziporah Gichana, Governor Barchok, Mr. Korir, and Chemasus Construction Limited pleaded not guilty to all charges,” the statement notes. “The charges brought against the county boss were filed under provisions of the Proceeds of Crime and Anti-Money Laundering Act, CAP 59B, which criminalizes the acquisition and use of illegally obtained funds, as well as conflict of interest under procurement laws.”
This prosecution comes after a High Court ruling on Monday cleared the way for the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) to proceed with the arrest and prosecution of Governor Barchok over the corruption-related charges.
On Monday, September 1, Governor Barchok had appeared before the EACC for questioning, just hours before the Nairobi High Court issued its crucial ruling declining to prevent the commission from detaining or prosecuting the county chief executive.
The court dismissed an application that had been filed seeking to shield the governor from arrest following formal recommendations by Director of Public Prosecutions Renson Ingonga.
The charges against Governor Barchok are based on extensive investigations that established he received significant sums from companies conducting business with his county government.
According to the DPP's statement released last week, investigations revealed that Barchok received a total of Ksh2.75 million from various companies doing business with Bomet County between the 2019/2020 and 2024/2025 financial years.
