The Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) is set to carry out lifestyle audits for Kisumu County government staff to weed out corrupt officials.
This follows a probe on the county books where tens of millions of shillings have been looted in form of imprests.
EACC Western Regional Manager Abraham Kemboi said the agency had collected crucial documents and was actively investigating the cases.
Kemboi said the probe would see a lifestyle audit conducted on all the suspects to trace the money and bring the culprits to book.
Speaking at the County Assembly of Kisumu offices during a corruption prevention engagement, Kemboi said the probe shall be extended to national government officers suspected to be working in cahoots with the county officials to swindle public funds.
“We have a number of cases that we are under investigation not just here in Kisumu but also in Vihiga and Siaya counties. This lifestyle audit shall also be extended to these areas,” he said.
EACC he added was also investigating cases where public land and government houses in the three counties have been grabbed.
The probe, he said, targets acres of Kenya Railways land and houses belonging to the Ministry of Housing and other state agencies.
“We have made good progress with the investigations and soon we shall issue a comprehensive report,” he said.
Kemboi asked all county and national government departments mentioned in the probe to collaborate with the EACC officials to ensure that the cases are concluded.
EACC officers from the corruption prevention unit, he added, were in Kisumu would over the next two weeks carry out an audit on the devolved unit’s processes and procedures and give recommendations to seal corruption loopholes.
He said the meeting was a follow up of the 2018 report which identified several gaps in the county executive and county assembly processes.
“Our being here today is to look at how far the county has gone in implementing the recommendations we presented to them in 2018,” he said.
The agency has embraced corruption prevention as a key strategy to help end the vice in the country, he added.
By Chris Mahandara
