Oparanya, Wife Arrested by EACC Over Graft

Former Kakamega governor Wycliffe Oparanya is currently being questioned by the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) in Nairobi for suspected procurement irregularities. 

EACC officials have accused him of embezzling funds from the county government of Kakamega between March 2013 and May 2023. On Wednesday, August 23, 2023, the EACC searched Oparanya's houses in Nairobi and Kakamega counties. The officers arrived at his Nairobi residence with a search warrant and searched all vehicles leaving the property. 

When they left, they demanded that Oparanya be driven in their official vehicle but his lawyer argued that they did not have a warrant to permit the same. The officers arrived at Mr. Oparanya's residence at 9:53 a.m. and conducted a thorough search of his house for four hours. They sought out any written or digital proof that might be linked to the improper acquisition of property via proceeds of crime and irregular procurement processes during his tenure as Governor.

Initial findings indicate that funds were transferred to contractors' bank accounts and later withdrawn. Mr Oparanya is the former chairman of the Council of Governors, a deputy party leader of the Orange Democratic Movement (ODM), and a close ally of opposition leader Raila Odinga. He also chairs the executive committee of the Azimio la Umoja One Kenya Coalition.

“The said money is suspected to have been deposited by persons closely associated with the respondent into various bank and Sacco accounts belonging to the respondent...in an intricate scheme of concealing the money,” reads an EACC report in part.