Kitui bosses grilled
for election offences
By Brian Malasi
Two Deputy County Commissioners from Kitui South Sub Counties were today questioned for more than six hours by detectives for suspected gross misconduct during the 2023 elections.
The two, Mr. Stephen Omondi Wambura and Mr. Onesmus Ireri Muriuki administrators of Ikutha and Mutomo divisions respectively were summoned by detectives from Serious Crimes Prevention Unit, in the company of two of their office staff and held for questioning at Kitui county police headquarters.
It comes after 12 chiefs and assistant chiefs from the same areas were subjected to the same ordeal last month at the Kitui Police station.
Among the chiefs summoned for questioning include Mr. Kyambati King’ondu (Kyatune location), Mr. Onesmus Mutaula (Ikanga location) Mr. Said Philip (Ilusya location), Mr. Pius Kilunda (Kibwea location) and Robert Kusinga (Mutomo location) who retired from active service September last year.
The investigations are aimed at shading light on how the administrators distributed government relief food between February and August last year among other alleged electoral offenses.
The interrogation team from Directorate of Criminal Investigations DCI headquarters in Nairobi, whisked the DCCs from the County Commissioner’s office at 8am and escorted them to Kitui police station for the questioning session.
Police used the same style deployed on the chiefs to nab the assistant county commissioners. They were summoned to the County Commissioner’s office then led to the police station.
While the two administrators declined to discuss the matter after their session with detectives, the County Commissioner Erastus Mbui confirmed the summons and grilling of his two adjutants.
The Anchor established that they were asked to individually account for certain actions committed between February and August last year.
Mr. Mbui said the matter of how relief food was distributed in Kitui South during the campaign period is still under investigations and his role was merely facilitative for the officials to face the DCI investigators.
He washed his hands from the matter saying; "Any further details on the nature and extent of the investigations against the officers can only be provided by DCI headquarters’’
Efforts to get a comment from the head of Serious Crimes Prevention Unit, Mr. Michael Sang were not successful, however, a source privy to the investigations told the Anchor that the two ACCs were implicated by their Chiefs during their questioning last month, specifically on how they allegedly gave directions their juniors to flout government guidelines in distribution of relief food.
The relief food consignments received in the constituency is said to have been distributed only in Jubilee campaign contrary to established government regulations.
The investigations were launched after numerous complaints from members of the public and whistle blowers who documented and shared incriminating evidence with authorities.
That not withstanding,the Chiefs are alleged to have openly engaged in voter bribery and buying of national identity cards from starving Kitui residents at a Sh1,000 fee in Kitui south to prevent voters opposed a particular candidate from voting.
During the election period, social media was awash with video clips showing some chiefs actively participating in partisan campaigns, including distributing campaign materials while others were captured bribing voters on the actual election day.
County DCI head Samuel Bett confirmed that the investigations on electoral malpractices against the administrators began in January.
