This archive report was first published on 10 January 2020.
January 10, 2020, Kisumu county government is facing a massive revenue loss due to a cartel of rogue revenue officers who are minting Sh15,000 per vehicle they seize and clamp.
The team, led by Mr. Basole, is said to be operating with impunity, clamping vehicles and detaining them at the Works yard along Obote Road until their owners pay the hefty sum.
According to well-placed sources, the team is working closely with a watchman at the defunct Kisumu Municipality works yard, who gives instructions not to release the vehicles until the money is paid.
The team is allegedly operating under the blessings of a CEC with endless troubles, who is not new to controversies.
Despite the new finance CEC, George Okong'o, promising to improve revenue collection and review the current system, the rogue officers continue to fleece the county government through dubious means.
They allegedly use fake receipts to do their dirty deals, targeting buses and private vehicles, especially in the evenings, and invoke the name of the director of City Inspectorate, Mr. Orimba, as the person to whom they take part of the money.
The drivers have appealed to the county government to crack the whip and deal with the officers according to the laws of the land and the county government Act and the Public Finance Management Act 2012.
