Migori governor Okoth Obado seem to be a man that will not just let trouble pass. He looks like a man that keeps calling for trouble or maybe it is trouble that keeps following him.
Ethics and Anti-Corruption detectives yesterday raided his homes and offices in search of evidence that could as well help them solve the multi-million corruption scandal at Migori County.
The Migori Governor, who is also facing charges of murdering a university student, is accused by the anti-graft body of siphoning Ksh.2 billion from the county coffers through companies registered by his relatives.
“The commission received credible information that a few persons well known to be proxies of the governor, registered several companies for the purpose of fraudulent acquisition of public funds through fictitious contracts,” says EACC in documents filed in court.
During the raid at is homes and offices, the EACC detectives confiscated among other things, eight firearms, bank statements and electronics.
Five of the firearms are said to have been recovered at his Nairobi home while the other 3 were found in his Migori home.
The Firearms act does not clearly state the number of firearms one is entitled to but is specific to the types one is allowed to own.
Director of Criminal investigations George Kinoti has said that the firearms will be subjected to ballistic examinations and verification of certificates at the Central Firearms Bureau (CFB)
The raid at Obado’s residences is surely going to cast a dark cloud on the governor’s future with insiders revealing that a number of arrests could be made this week.
EACC investigators are said to be finalizing on their graft investigations before hauling the suspects in court.
Obado is believed to have used the stolen cash to maintain a flashy lifestyle for himself and his family. Detectives say that through the procurement scam, Mr Obado was able to build a home worth Sh100 million in Uriri in Migori County and send at least Sh13 million to his children.
The EACC has been investigating procurement at Migori County since last September.
On September 24, just a day before Migori County secretary Christopher Rusana was to furnish the EACC with tender documents to assist with investigations, the building used as a document storage facility burnt down.
EACC now insists that the fire was an arson attack aimed at destroying evidence that would completed the Sh2.5 billion puzzle.
“It is suspected that the aforementioned was not an unfortunate fire incident but an arson attack calculated to subvert the efforts of the commission to get to the bottom of the allegation of theft of over Sh2.5 billion from Migori County,” EACC detective Catherine Ngari says in court papers.
Should the Governor be arrested and charged in Court for the Corruption-related charges?