EACC detectives set a trap for Garissa Chief and caught him collecting bribes from refugees - He had collected Ksh 139,000 in a few hours (PHOTOs).

 

Wednesday, May 29, 2024 - The Chief for Bulla Mzuri Location in Garissa County, Abdirahman Shafe Yussuf faces charges for alleged extortion of money from refugees seeking service from his office.

 The suspect was caught in the act during an operation mounted by the EACC Garissa Regional Office on Thursday following an inquiry into numerous complaints from victims.

The Chief has reportedly become notorious for bribe demands in an ongoing de-registration of fingerprints from the UNHCR system.

 Before permitting the process, he allegedly requires every service seeker to pay him Kes. 3000 as a “consultation fee” and a further Kes.10,000 “facilitation fee” despite the service being free of charge.

Before the EACC intervention, all service seekers were required to first pay the illegal charges to the Chief’s accomplice operating from Motor Vehicle Registration Number KCY 656W (White Probox) parked outside the Vetting hall, as a mandatory condition for one to be processed for the service.

During the operation, the Commission recovered from the Chief Kes. 139,000 believed to be part of the day’s collection and a list of 85 double-registered applicants indicating the amount paid by each.

The suspect was processed at EACC Garissa Regional Office and freed on police bond pending the finalization of the probe.

The Commission condemns such despicable actions by public officers who take advantage of vulnerable service seekers to extort money from them in breach of public trust.

Service seekers and other persons visiting service delivery points are encouraged to continue exposing public officials demanding bribes in order to provide the very services they are employed to deliver.