Busia Senator Okiya Omtatah has once again rattled the political establishment, this time accusing Governor Paul Otuoma’s administration of presiding over a multi-billion-shilling looting spree.
In a damning petition to the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC), Omtatah revealed that Busia County has lost Ksh5.2 billion through systemic fraud and deliberate mismanagement.
He alleges county officials manipulated financial systems, inflated budgets, and concealed records in what amounts to the largest looting scandal in the county’s history. The Senator is demanding immediate criminal investigations and arrests.
Looting Busia through Manipulated Systems
In a letter dated August 25, 2025, Omtatah formally asked the EACC to investigate Governor Otuoma’s administration over what he called “systemic looting of taxpayer money.”
The Senator based his claims on a fraud audit report he commissioned in July 2025. The document analysed the Auditor-General’s Report on Busia County Executive’s Financial Statements for the year ending June 30, 2023, alongside other records.
According to Omtatah, the report exposed a network of fraud built into Busia’s financial systems. He pointed to the deliberate use of duplicate Integrated Financial Management Information System (IFMIS) account codes, unauthorised expenditures, and inflated budgets worth Ksh1.4 billion without approval.
“This was not an accident. It was a calculated scheme to defraud the people of Busia,” Omtatah said.
He accused county officials of violating Article 226 of the Constitution and the Public Finance Management Act by failing to prepare and submit departmental accounts. Instead, the finance department only submitted consolidated accounts, deliberately leaving out details that could expose theft.
This concealment, the Senator explained, created accountability gaps that made it easy to loot. Ultimately, Ksh5.2 billion could not be accounted for.
Omtatah Targets Senior County Officials
Omtatah directly accused senior officials serving under Governor Otuoma of presiding over the irregularities. He described their actions as clear violations of the Penal Code, the Anti-Corruption and Economic Crimes Act, and other financial laws.
He demanded the EACC summon implicated officials, seize all financial records, and conduct lifestyle audits to expose property allegedly bought through graft.
“Invoke your powers under the Constitution and initiate immediate criminal investigations,” he wrote, calling on the Commission to act against the Governor’s inner circle.
The Senator further demanded accountability from national officers, including the Controller of Budget and the Auditor-General, who he believes enabled the scandal by failing to detect and stop the fraud.
Omtatah gave the EACC seven days to respond in writing, outlining the steps it would take to recover the stolen billions.
EACC Under Pressure to Act on Busia Looting
Omtatah also put the EACC on the spot. He accused some of its officers of abetting corruption in Busia by protecting suspects in earlier scandals. According to him, leniency in handling previous cases only emboldened county officials to loot even more.
However, the Senator expressed hope that the Commission’s current leadership would prove different by acting decisively to safeguard taxpayers’ money.
The public mood in Busia is tense. Residents are demanding to know how billions meant for roads, hospitals, and schools vanished under their watch. Civil society groups are calling for arrests and the freezing of assets belonging to those implicated.
Governor Otuoma, who has maintained silence over the matter, is under immense political pressure. Critics argue that his administration cannot escape responsibility, since the fraud was allegedly carried out under his watch.
The scandal now threatens to destabilize the county government and could spark a showdown between the Governor and the Senator, who has built his political career on exposing corruption.
