Some 15 Nairobi City County workers were arrested on Friday for allegedly taking bribes.
The parking attendants were arrested by officers from the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) during a joint operation conducted in collaboration with the Nairobi County Integrity Department.
The exercise was conducted between 11 and 11.30 in the morning in Industrial area, Ngara, Westlands and Kirinyaga and River roads in Nairobi.
The commission’s Chief Executive Officer Halakhe Waqo confirmed that some Sh128,417 was recovered from them.
“Some of the money recovered was the commission’s money that was covertly used in the operation,” Mr Waqo said in a statement to the media.
He said the commission was processing the matter and would forward the suspects’ case files to the Director of Public Prosecutions Keriako Tobiko for action.
The suspects were grilled by at the commission offices for more than four hours before they were released at 6 o’clock in the evening.
DISGUISED
Journalists who had gathered at the commission’s offices had a difficult time identifying them after they decided to hide the yellow apron uniforms they wore.
This was meant to, seemingly, disguise that they were part of EACC employees or members of the public who had sought services at the commission.
Nairobi Governor Dr Evans Kidero commended the commission’s bold step to help the county deal with corruption within its officers.
“The City officers who have been arrested have been suspended with immediate effect and will be interdicted once found guilty,” said the governor in a statement by Director of Communication Mr Walter Mong’are.
He sought to assure Nairobi residents that the Governor’s office is fully committed in the fight against corruption.
“We will continue to encourage our employees to focus on quality service delivery that is not compromised because it’s a right of the citizens,” Dr Kidero said.
He appealed to members of the public to continue supporting the fight against corruption by volunteering information to the relevant investigative and to the Governor’s office.
“We encourage the public to report any sort of harassment and extortion incidences that they may face while seeking services from our county offices,” Dr Kidero said.
