Kitui County Police Arrest Impersonators Posing as EACC Officials in Extortion Scheme

Kitui County police have apprehended five individuals, including a police officer, for allegedly impersonating officials from the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC).

The group, comprising four men and a woman, is accused of attempting to extort money from the County’s Director of Revenue Collection.

According to Kitui Central Police OCPD Peter Karanja, the suspects stormed the Director’s office, pretending to be conducting a crackdown on corrupt county officials.

They then took the Director to her residence, claiming she had hidden large sums of stolen county funds there.

The Director, suspicious of the individuals, alerted the police, who soon arrived at the scene and arrested the suspects.

Interrogation revealed that the suspects were in possession of EACC staff badges, all bearing the title “CEO”.

“When our officers met the supposed anti-corruption officers, they became suspicious. They brought the suspects to the station, and we found that the badges they had all said ‘CEO of the EACC’,” Karanja told Journalists

Karanja has 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 reached out to the Eastern Regional manager, who is sending a team to confirm whether these are genuine EACC employees,” Karanja said.

The OCPD urged Kitui residents to be vigilant and report any instances of individuals claiming to be government officers but unable to provide proper identification.

He advised calling the police or the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) for appropriate action.