The Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) has intensified its campaign against corruption and misuse of public resources across Western Kenya, in a wave of enforcement actions targeting police officers, public land grabbers, and fraudulent contractors. From Busia to Bungoma, the commission’s latest operations have led to arrests, recovery of public assets, and legal interventions aimed at shielding state institutions from collapse.
In Busia, five traffic police officers were arrested for allegedly extorting bribes from motorists along the Kisumu–Busia highway. According to EACC, the officers had converted a police checkpoint located five kilometres from Busia Town into a personal revenue stream.
Those arrested include Corporal Hezron Aburi, Corporal Mary Nabei, and constables James Weru, Mwakwekwe Nyoka, and Aisha Abdullahi. A two-week undercover surveillance operation confirmed that motorists were being compelled to pay “tolls” to pass.
The officers were detained at EACC’s Western Regional Office in Bungoma pending arraignment.
“These arrests are part of ongoing efforts to dismantle entrenched rent-seeking cartels within traffic operations,” said an EACC official.
In Bungoma, the commission recovered a prime half-acre parcel of public land valued at KSh 35 million. The property, located adjacent to the Bungoma State Lodge, had been irregularly acquired in 2016 by a senior banking executive, Judy Nekoye.
Court records show the land had been reserved since 1961 for government housing. The Bungoma Environment and Land Court declared the transactions leading to Nekoye’s ownership fraudulent, ordering her eviction.
“This ruling is a message to powerful individuals misusing influence to acquire public assets,” said human rights advocate Emmanuel Were, calling for wider investigations in the Milimani area.
The commission also secured court orders stopping the auction of Matili Technical Training Institute’s equipment and vehicles over a contested KSh 17 million claim. EACC investigations found the debt to be fraudulent and that the contractor in question had been fully paid by 2017.
Despite this, the company had obtained a court judgment in 2020 and had already auctioned some items, threatening operations at an institution serving over 10,000 students.
Lady Justice Sharif Mwanaisha Said suspended the auction pending full review of the case.
“We received this decision with great relief. The institution was on the verge of shutting down,” said Chief Principal Judith Sande.
Meanwhile, a corruption case involving former Nzoia Sugar Company Managing Director Godfrey Sifuna Wanyonyi and seven others is entering its final phase. The suspects are accused of defrauding the state-owned miller of KSh 11 million through irregular payments between 2015 and 2016.
The Supreme Court recently dismissed an appeal lodged by one of the accused, clearing the way for final witness testimonies.
The coordinated actions reflect EACC’s widening focus on dismantling corruption networks that undermine public services and state assets.
With learning institutions, critical infrastructure, and basic service delivery at stake, the commission says the clean-up in Western Kenya is far from over.
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