Governor Wamatangi claims EACC raid was politically driven

Kiambu Governor Kimani Wamatangi has said that the recent raid on his home and office by the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) was politically motivated and aimed at destroying his leadership and legacy.

Speaking on Tuesday after his release, Wamatangi said the raid was part of a broader plan to derail development in Kiambu County.

He claimed that a senior officer had personally warned him that his name would be ruined.

"Somebody called me, a very senior officer, and told me, ‘even if you are going to finish your governorship, you will be so dirty, we will have made you dirty,"' he said.

Despite the pressure, Wamatangi said he will not back down from serving the people of Kiambu. "I am not afraid. I will not be cowed, and I will not be intimidated. I will stand by the principle that our people deserve right in," he said.

The governor also raised questions about the legality of the search, claiming the court order used was not valid. He accused the EACC of using a fake document to justify the operation.

"The order that was used to come and harass my family was fictitious. It was obtained fraudulently. They were using the wrong names. I am the governor of Kiambu. If I am someone to be sought, I’ll take myself there tomorrow morning," he said.

Wamatangi criticised the scale of the operation, saying it involved an excessive number of police officers.

He said over 50 officers raided his home and office while nearly 200 others were deployed to the offices of senior county officials.

"There is no reason why more than 50 police officers can wake up to my office, to my home, and another almost 200 deployed to various ministers’ offices in my government. And the reason is only one: they are targeting my ministers who perform," he said.

According to Wamatangi, the officers took a large number of documents from his home, including personal records such as birth and graduation certificates.

He said none of the files taken had anything to do with corruption.

Earlier on Tuesday, the EACC had confirmed that Wamatangi had been arrested during a raid linked to a corruption investigation.

In a statement, the EACC said the governor and several senior officials are under investigation over a Sh230 million contract for an Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system. The contract is said to have been awarded in suspicious circumstances.

The agency also said it is looking into allegations of irregular procurement, conflict of interest, and abuse of office in the Kiambu county government.

In total, the EACC is probing Wamatangi and nine other officials over suspected embezzlement of public funds and irregular dealings that could amount to Sh1.5 billion.

These include claims of fake supplies and payments that breach public finance and procurement rules.

But Wamatangi dismissed the claims and accused the EACC of running a smear campaign against his administration.

He said the goal was to stop the progress his government was making.

"They want to make my government a failure because of the record that we have. I want to announce to anyone who wants to seek the governorship of Kiambu that it is the people of Kiambu who elect the governor, not the police, not the EACC," he said.

The EACC said its investigations are still ongoing.

Once complete, the findings may lead to prosecution, recovery of stolen assets, and seizure of any proceeds believed to come from corruption.