Garissa governor Nathif Jama questioned by EACC

What you need to know:

  • Governor was summoned following complaints by Garissa residents, EACC official says.

A governor was Thursday questioned by anti-graft officers over the alleged misappropriation of funds and for flouting procurement rules.

Garissa Governor Nathif Jama was questioned for about two hours by Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) officers over the alleged embezzlement of Sh60 million.

According to the commission’s spokesman Yassin Amaro, the governor was summoned following complaints by Garissa residents.

“He has been questioned over embezzlement, flouting procurement rules and offering tenders to his cronies among other complaints,” said Mr Amaro while confirming the county leader was at the commission's offices.

Mr Jama was seen arriving at the EACC offices in the morning but used a back exit to leave about two hours later.

“The commission received complaints from about 20 Garissa residents prompting the summons, there are allegations that he has embezzled about Sh60 million over time,” said Mr Amaro.

The EACC official said the governor denied the claims during the interrogation, adding that the leader would undergo further scrutiny by the anti-graft body later.

“We are not through with him yet and he will be coming back, maybe next week; he said he has documents to present to us,” said Mr Amaro while pressed for more details.

He also confirmed that the governor was accompanied by his lawyer when he recorded a statement.

The EACC official added that more governors would soon appear before the commission for questioning following complaints of misappropriation of public funds.

He said other county leaders had been questioned but declined to reveal their identities, only saying “piles” of files detailing the investigations were ready.