Former Kakamega Governor Wycliffe Oparanya was on Wednesday questioned by Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission detectives alongside his spouses in relation to the alleged embezzlement of Ksh.1.3 billion during his two-term tenure as Governor of Kakamega County.
According to the anti-graft commission, ongoing investigations indicate that public funds were unlawfully acquired through proxies and associates during Oparanya’s tenure.
“Following increasing media inquiries, the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) wishes to confirm that today, Wednesday, 23rd August 2023, the Commission conducted a successful search on various targets as part of an ongoing investigation into allegations of embezzlement of public funds amounting to over Ksh.1.3 billion from Kakamega County during the reign of former Governor, Wycliffe Oparanya, and where it was found that public funds were unlawfully acquired through proxies and associates,” said EACC Deputy CEO Abdi Mohamud.
The EACC Deputy CEO confirmed that Oparanya was taken to Integrity Centre in Nairobi to “clarify several issues and record a statement on the ongoing investigation.”
Mohamud noted that the Kakamega County investigation is part of numerous high-impact investigations into loss of public funds that the Commission is undertaking in various County Governments, adding that the operations are at different stages.
The commission thus urged leaders against politicizing and ethinicizing the investigation exercise.
Earlier in the day, the detectives carried out raids at several of his homes and carted away documents crucial in building their case.
Oparanya’s lawyer Danstan Omari had initially been barred from accessing his client but was eventually allowed in.
Various Azimio leaders among them NARC-Kenya Party boss Martha Karua and ODM Secretary General Edwin Sifuna showed up at the EACC headquarters in a show of solidarity. The leaders claimed the operation was a political witchhunt linking it to the anticipated tour of western kenya by President William Ruto.
