This archive report was first published on 17 June 2020.
On June 11, 2020, Kakamega County Secretary Jacinta Aluoch was arrested by sleuths from the Director of Criminal Investigations - Western Region while at the county offices. She was released on a police cash bail of Sh100,000.
Aluoch is facing charges of issuing death threats against County Executive Committee Member for Public Service Beatrice Saban and Joshua Kutekha, an accounting officer in Governor Wycliffe Oparanya’s office. Other complainants include Peter Lukoye, a former chief officer in the Department of Public Service and Administration and Michael Mukolwe, a former Transport officer in the county.
She is also accused of abuse of office, where she allegedly facilitated the payment of allowances and other benefits to her personal driver and two armed bodyguards, despite them not being county employees. The complainants had questioned Aluoch’s contravention of the County Governments Act and the Salaries and Remuneration Commission directives.
On June 9, 2020, Patrick Gumo, the senior assistant director of Public Prosecutions for Western Region, ordered for her arrest and prosecution. The Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) has temporarily stopped the prosecution of Aluoch, ordering the file to be returned to Nairobi for further directions.
