Sleuths from the Ethics and Anti-corruption Commission (EACC) have arrested Embakasi East Ward Administrator Stephen Cheruiyot for demanding and taking a bribe of Ksh30,000.
It is alleged that on February 10, 2023, City Inspectorate officers from Embakasi East Ward visited a site in Utawala whereby workers from Artesian K. Ltd were drilling a borehole for a customer.
The officers arrested one of the workers, Mr Peter Macharia, and took him to Soweto Police Station for the offence of illegal water connection and later released him on a cash bail of Ksh10,000. He was ordered to report to Nairobi city county offices at Embakasi on February 13, 2023.
Engineer Njoroge Keruka, the owner of the drilling company, after receiving a report on the said arrest called the area sub-county administrator Mr Stephen Cheruiyot who in turn advised him to visit his office at Embakasi on the following day.
Stephen Cheruiyot’s demands
On February 13, 2023, Mr Peter Macharia went to the Embakasi sub-county offices ready to be taken to court but he was asked by the sub-county administrator to look for Ksh40,000 so that the case can be resolved without being taken to court.
Mr Macharia informed his boss, Engineer Keruka, about the new demand who in turn reported the matter to EACC.
Preliminary investigations by the anti-graft body established that the suspect was demanding the bribe as alleged by the complainant.
Sleuths from the Integrity Centre accompanied the complainant to Embakasi whereby he went and met with the suspect in his office. The two had a conversation in relation to the bribe and after negotiations, the suspect agreed to receive Ksh30,000 bribe in return for Mr Macharia’s freedom.
The suspect was then arrested after receiving the Ksh30, 000. The Ksh30,000 operation money was recovered from him before being escorted to Integrity Centre for further investigations and processing.
Mr Cheruiyot was then released on a cash bail of Ksh100,000 pending the outcome of further investigations.
