Beware of ‘fake’ county officials: Sakaja warns Nairobians
Nairobi Governor Johnson Sakaja has cautioned Nairobi residents of certain individuals who are impersonating County officials with the aim of defrauding innocent people.
The governor said that the unscrupulous staff and imposters are pretending to aid and bypass revenue collection channels, and many people have fallen into their trap.
The residents who are seeking county services have also been asked to avoid cash payments for all the services.
“If any of my revenue team members ask for payment in cash or purports to be able to assist outside of the system that we have put in place for revenue collection please report them, and we will take immediate action,” Sakaja said.
This comes two days after the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) arrested two county officials from the parking sector for taking bribes and producing fake receipts.
“Please note that we will commence enforcement in earnest in February. No member of staff is allowed to enforce in the month of January as we are using this month to allow for transition to the Unified Business Permit (UBP) regime.”
Also read: Sakaja to EACC: Investigate corruption cases in City Hall
The county has also reiterated that it operates a no-cash policy in revenue collection, and customers are advised to make their payments through the Nairobi City County Government Revenue collection accounts once they obtain their invoices.
The two officials who were arrested on Monday, January 22, by EACC include Daniel Odidi Ganje, who is the Officer-In-Charge of the Data Office at St. Peter Cleavers Revenue offices, and John Gachagua Mburu, a Mt. Kenya University Student attached at the said Revenue Offices, as intern.
The suspects were placed in cells at Kilimani Police Station before being arraigned.
According to the anti-corruption body, the two suspects were involved in the diversion of county revenue through manipulation of the Nairobi Revenue Services portal to fraudulently reflect full payment.
The arrest of the two came barely a month after the governor asked the commission to investigate the bribery allegations, which had been reported several times by customers seeking services.