EACC warns Western MCAs of blackmailing county executive officials over tenders

The Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) has challenged Members of County Assemblies (MCAs) in the Western region to desist from an emerging pattern in which MCAs demand to be awarded tenders for all works in their respective wards, as well as job opportunities for their relatives and political supporters, including those without qualifications.

Speaking in Kakamega while opening the Corruption Prevention Forum for CEC Members and Chief Officers of Kakamega County, EACC Regional Director for Western Kenya, Eric Ngumbi, revealed that when these demands are not met, the MCAs resort to blackmail and threaten county executive officials with impeachment or other sanctions.

“The MCAs also demand irregular recruitment of their relatives and political supporters, including those without qualifications. When these demands are not met, the MCAs blackmail and threaten County Executive Officials with impeachment or other sanctions,” Mr Ngumbi noted.

“In other cases, they demand that the Executive Officials be transferred to other dockets for failure to ‘cooperate’ with them.”

The Commission says that such practices compromise the ability of the MCAs to effectively discharge their oversight over accountability in the use of county public funds, thus increasing corruption in the counties.

Ngumbi noted that trading with counties puts county officials at risk of sanctions outlined under the Conflict of Interest Act, 2025, which was recently signed into law by the President last month. If convicted, it may also affect their eligibility to hold public office.

According to the Regional Director, EACC is currently pursuing other emerging corruption practices in Western counties such as senior county officials registering proxy companies to loot public funds, voiding Controller of Budget-approved transactions to create irregular pending bills and failure to remit statutory deductions.

Other practices are theft of funds retained in health facilities, bulk imprest withdrawals disguised with forged documents, and lack of inventories that expose county property to grabbing.

“These malpractices destroy livelihoods, erode public trust in government institutions, and deepen the suffering of ordinary citizens who depend on honest leadership for essential services,” he warned.

The Commission also urged governors of the 34 counties where a Corruption Risk Assessment has been undertaken by EACC to implement the EACC recommendations, which, according to the Commission, would significantly reduce the levels of corruption currently witnessed in the counties, even as EACC continues with criminal investigations. Kakamega now becomes the 35th county to benefit from the corruption prevention programme.

Ngumbi further outlined the Commission’s strategic focus, which includes monitoring capital-intensive projects, tracing and recovering stolen assets, and addressing bribery at service delivery points.

“We are intensifying lifestyle audits and asset recovery to secure forfeiture of unlawfully acquired property. For instance, properties worth Ksh.500 million have already been advertised for auction in today’s papers,” he said.

He underscored that EACC is also scaling up intelligence gathering and surveillance in public institutions prone to bribery, while deepening partnerships with regulatory agencies.

“Recognising that no single institution can combat corruption alone, the Commission is deepening collaborations with oversight agencies to foster a coordinated and effective response,” Ngumbi said.

At the same time, the commission emphasised that the fight requires strong citizen involvement, particularly through public awareness.

“Every shilling stolen is a child denied education, a mother denied healthcare, and a community denied development. The fight against corruption is a fight for justice, fairness, and the future of our nation,” Ngumbi told the forum.