EACC detectives arrested six members of the Embu Land Control Board who were allegedly demanding bribes in the form of illegal mandatory fees from people seeking the Board’s permission to conduct land transactions.
The EACC conducted an operation on Friday that resulted in the arrest of the six.
According to reports, the Board meets once a month to process various applications.
Their arrest occurred on the same day they were scheduled to process applications from various residents.
When EACC detectives arrived at the Board offices in the morning, the suspects had allegedly collected over Sh150,000 from various members of the public who had come to have their applications pending before the Board processed.
EACC launched the investigations after receiving information that the Embu Land Control Board is notorious for corruption and runs an illegal payment scheme in which every service seeker is required to pay a mandatory fee of Sh2,000.
“Anyone who is unable or unwilling to pay the Sh 2,000 is usually denied service and turned away,” an EACC source said.
During the undercover operation, EACC detectives discovered that service seekers who showed up for the monthly hearing of their applications were required to pay their fees before being ‘admitted’ to the hearing.
“A total of Sh 150,000 had been collected from the residents and kept under a drawer manned by one of the Board Members when our detectives struck and disrupted the bribe collection exercise,” EACC said.
Land Control Boards in Kenya are appointed by the Cabinet Secretary for Lands under the Land Control Boards Act Cap 302 Laws of Kenya and are mandated to control agricultural land dealings (land outside townships and municipalities) within their jurisdictions by issuing/rejecting consent.
