By Antynet Ford
The Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission has arrested a man suspected of being a serial imposter.
The suspect is alleged to have been defrauding Kenyans while posing as EACC’s assistant director of intelligence operations.
EACC said the suspect was arrested after investigations into numerous complaints from victims of extortion.
The suspect has reportedly extorted millions of shillings from the victims, including senior state officials.
The Commission said the suspect would pretend to be carrying out corruption investigations implicating them, which he would promise to “sort out”.
Confirming the arrest, the Commission, through its Spokesperson Eric Ngumbi, said the suspect was arrested at his hideout in South C and escorted to the EACC Integrity Centre Police Station.
During the arrest, the Commission recovered two fake staff identification cards for EACC and an entity called Kenya Network Against Corruption (Director – Intelligence & Data Survey), under the suspect’s name.
The anti-corruption body noted that there has been an influx in the number of fraudsters posing as its detectives.
Ngumbi said in 2024 alone, the Commission has encountered over 350 cases of fake detectives conning Kenyans while pretending to be officers of EACC or other law enforcement agencies on official duty.
“Some imposters, especially in Kakamega, Bungoma, and Busia counties, have established fake EACC offices and offering the Commission’s services for pay.” He said.
He added that some imposters issue fake EACC Integrity Clearance certificates for candidates seeking employment at a fee, a service ordinarily offered by the Commission free of charge.
“Others purport to carry out investigations, arrests, and search operations on their targets then demand huge bribes promising to skew the investigations in their favor or waive potential criminal charges.” Ngumbi explained.
Relatedly, EACC said some invade people’s business premises claiming that they are inspecting compliance with various licensing requirements or counterfeit goods.
Ngumbi encouraged Kenyans who encounter suspicious persons to always notify EACC and avoid succumbing to such fraudulent traps.