This archive report was first published on 14 November 2019.
On November 14, 2019, the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) launched an investigation into the West Pokot County Water Department for allegedly embezzling Sh300 million meant for borehole construction projects.
The EACC sleuths, drawn from Eldoret and Nairobi offices, stormed the Kapenguria offices, seizing assorted documents and recording statements from implicated staff members.
According to EACC officials, the Water Department officials spent funds from West Pokot County funds on projects that had already been funded by Pokot Outreach Ministries, a non-governmental organisation.
Rev. Julius Murgor, the director of Pokot Outreach Ministries, stated that EACC officials had written to him requesting confirmation on the number of boreholes drilled in West Pokot County.
"How can the County Government pay Sh300 million that is supposed to be public funds to projects that we have already completed with our own funds?" Rev. Murgor asked.
West Pokot Governor John Lonyangapuo, who was in America at the time, claimed he was unaware of the funds being used for the projects. He, however, warned those involved to prepare to face the law.
Local leaders, including Kapenguria MP Samuel Moroto, Kacheliba MP Mark Lomolokol, and Sigor MP Peter Lochakapong, have called for the prosecution of those implicated in the scandal.
