EACC arrest Nakuru enforcement officer for allegedly soliciting Sh 3,000 bribe

The Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) is investigating a case in which a county enforcement officer was arrested for soliciting bribes.

The Commission's South Rift regional boss Ignatius Wekesa says the commission is conducting further investigations before it can forward the file to the Office of the Director of Public Prosecution (ODPP) for directions.

Mr Wekesa who confirmed the arrest of the suspect identified as Mr Patrick Njuguna on Monday, said he was released on a Sh 30,000 cash bail pending investigations.

The official says the commission sleuths needed to complete investigations before charging the suspect, which are the conditions issued by the ODPP.

“We cannot just charge him before completing investigations. The new directive from the ODPP requires that we finish the investigations first, before we forward the file to them so we just granted him bond as we carry on with the investigation,” says Mr Wekesa.

Mr Njuguna was arrested on Monday by detectives from the EACC for demanding bribes or Kitu Kidogo from a motorist in order to unclamp his vehicle.

According to the Regional boss, the commission embarked on the operation to nab the suspect following a series of complaints from the members of the public, over the harassment by the enforcement officers who keep on demanding bribes.

He points out that the commission had to set its own traps so that the suspect could be arrested.

“Despite getting the complaints from the members of the public, it has not been easy to arrest suspects since the complainants do not want to participate in the cases,” says Mr Wekesa.

He reveals that the suspect had demanded Sh 3,000 from the motorists before they pounced on him.

Njuguna was taken to the commission’s regional offices in Nakuru, before he was escorted to the Nakuru central police station where he was booked.