Police in Kitui County have apprehended five individuals, including an active police officer, for allegedly impersonating Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) officers. The group, consisting of four men and one woman, was detained while attempting to extort the County’s Director of Revenue Collection.
The incident unfolded when the suspects stormed the Director’s office under the guise of conducting a crackdown on corrupt county officials. They then escorted the director to her residence, claiming she had hidden large sums of looted county funds there. Suspicious of their behavior, the Director promptly alerted the police, who swiftly arrived at the scene and apprehended the suspects.
Kitui Central Police OCPD Peter Karanja reported that during the interrogation, officers discovered that the suspects were in possession of EACC staff badges, all bearing the title “CEO.”
“We sent our officers and when they met the purported anti-graft watchdog officers, they were somehow suspicious. They brought them to the station, and we were able to establish that the badges they had were all reading CEO of the EACC,” Karanja told Citizen Digital.
In response to the arrests, Karanja contacted the EACC’s Eastern Regional Manager to verify the identities of the suspects, who remain in custody at the Kitui Central Police Station.
“We have contacted the Eastern Regional Manager who is sending his team to come and verify whether these are genuine employees of the EACC,” Karanja said. “We are holding the five suspects and are still processing them.”
OCPD Karanja urged Kitui residents to remain vigilant and report any instances of individuals impersonating government officers.
“Should there be people purporting to be police officers who are not able to ID themselves positively, kindly call the police or DCI for action to be taken,” he advised.
This incident highlights the ongoing challenges in combating corruption and the importance of verifying the identities of individuals claiming to represent government agencies. The swift action taken by the Kitui police underscores the commitment to upholding the law and protecting citizens from fraudulent activities.
