Governor Wavinya suspends 33 revenue officers over alleged corruption

Machakos County Governor Wavinya Ndeti has suspended 33 revenue officers over alleged graft, associating them with under-reporting collected fees, diverting funds, and issuing fake receipts and permits.

The suspension comes amid rising concerns about fraudulent activities in Machakos county, prompting the governor to take action to eradicate graft in the county's operations.

Speaking during a press briefing on Tuesday, Wavinya described corruption as a cancer eating into the core of service delivery, emphasizing that her administration will leave no stone unturned in holding every wrongdoer accountable.

“In light of recent revelations and growing public concern, my office is addressing the alarming incidences of corruption involving public servants entrusted with the welfare of our County,” Wavinya said.

She added that some public servants in Machakos County continue to collude with unscrupulous individuals to con residents despite heavy investment in digital revenue collection.

“Despite investing heavily in digitizing revenue collection systems, some public servants continue to collude with unscrupulous individuals to issue illegal permits. Some unsuspecting residents are even conned without their knowledge,” Wavinya lamented.

She confirmed that the 33 officers have been suspended immediately and instructed to hand over duties to their respective Chief Officers.

Their names, along with others still under investigation, will be forwarded to the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) and the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) for prosecution

She also vowed to root out all individuals stealing the resources of the people of Machakos County.

“Today I am here to name and shame them for stealing from the public. What they have been doing is intolerable. We shall pursue the perpetrators until we smoke out the very last of them,” Wavinya declared.