Nakuru court process server under investigations for corruption
Benard Ngeno, who was released on a police cash bail after being arrested by the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) for allegedly soliciting and receiving a bribe to allocate a convenient mention date for a complainant’s case
A court process server attached to the Nakuru Law Courts Civil Registry is under investigation for alleged corruption at the court room.
The Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) confirmed arresting suspect Benard Ngeno, on Wednesday for allegedly soliciting and receiving a bribe to allocate a convenient mention date for a complainant’s case.
Steve Karuga, EACC Head of Communications said Mr Ngeno who was arrested alongside another person from Eldoret was freed on Sh 5,000 Police cash bail pending investigations.
“A police cash bail of Sh5,000 was given after we arrested and processed him. He was taken to the police station and granted police cash bail,” said.
Karuga said the commission will complete its investigations before forwarding the file to the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) for consideration and guidance.
“We want to tie up the investigation process, then submit the file to the DPP for consideration and guidance,” he said.
Asked whether the arrest was part of a wider crackdown or a whistleblower operation, Karuga noted the commission acts both on specific complaints and through proactive operations targeting service-delivery points.
“It's a combination of both. Where we receive a specific complaint, we act on it,” he said. “But one of our strategies is also to focus on service delivery points proactively. Where there is an incident, we go to the ground to make sure that some of those incidents are proactively mitigated before they happen.”
This is the third time Nakuru is on the EACC radar in less than two months owing to a case involving Nakuru County-related affairs in less than two months, coming after the commission arrested seven current and former senior county officials and a contractor over alleged procurement fraud involving Sh120 million, and the subsequent arraignment of five county officials and a private vendor over an alleged irregular Sh50 million land purchase.
The three cases have put different parts of Nakuru's public service and management of public resources under renewed scrutiny, from the courts and county procurement processes to the acquisition of land for a public health facility.