Bomet governor Prof Hillary Barchok arrested in Sh1.4bn graft probe
Bomet Governor Prof Hillary Barchok was arrested on Thursday as the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) investigates alleged corruption in his administration.
EACC detectives arrested Prof Barchok during a morning raid on his residence in Bomet.
Also seized by the EACC detectives were eight senior officers and two contractors linked to the alleged loss of funds.
After months of investigations, the EACC detectives secured court orders and raided the governor’s residence in Bomet and Nairobi, the homes and offices of the officers and contractors, before they arrested them.
EACC said the county boss was under investigation for alleged conflict of interest and theft of public funds.
There was drama as Prof Barchok’s supporters and county enforcement security officers attempted to block the EACC officers from taking him to the South Rift EACC offices in Nakuru for processing after ransacking his office for four hours.
Police officers cocked their guns, pushed and shoved the governor’s supporters as they cleared the way for Prof Barchok to board the waiting vehicle before being driven off in high speed.
Several Members of the County Assembly (MCAs) aligned to the governor jammed the offices after word went round that he had been arrested and was being held at the county offices.
Prof Barchok becomes the first governor in President William Ruto’s Rift Valley backyard to be arrested by EACC since Kenya Kwanza rode to power in the August 9, 2022 general election.
Bomet Governor Hillary Barchok (in Toyota Prado) is driven to his office on 6 February 2024 under the escort of police and Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) officers who arrested him at his residence in Kapkimolwo, Bomet East constituency, following allegations of conflict of interest and theft of public funds.
EACC investigators raided the governor's Kapkimolwo residence in Bomet East constituency and confiscated mobile phones belonging to officials at the residence before knocking on their boss's door at 6 am.
"Governor Barchok is in the custody of EACC detectives in Bomet County who are facilitating an operation that started this morning targeting various premises linked to him," Eric Ngumbi, the EACC spokesperson told Nation.Africa.
"The operation is part of ongoing investigations into allegations of conflict of interest and theft of public funds in Bomet County in which the governor is a suspect," Mr Ngumbi added.
Mr Abdi Mohamud, the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the EACC, confirmed the operation leading to the arrest.
After a raid that lasted about three hours at his residence, he was escorted to the county headquarters where his offices were ransacked by the detectives under police guard.
The offices at the county headquarters were deserted, as officials had been barred from entering the area and police had been on standby since morning.
Prof Barchok is expected to be escorted later to the EACC regional offices in Nakuru to record a formal statement.
The governor’s office was yet to issue a statement on the matter in regards to the raid and the arrest which took residence by surprise.
The commission has been investigating suspicious transactions in the county for the past seven months, leading to the arrest of an engineer - Victor Cheruiyot - who was allegedly found with 121 company and county stamps.
According to the EACC, 100 official stamps linked to the case were seized from the road engineer's home and a further 21 from his county office.
The allegations relate to the purchase of 12 pieces of road construction equipment, which led to a staggering Sh1.4billion discrepancy in the county government's financial records.