A tweet from a page calling itself the Daily Mail (not to be confused with the UK publication that goes by the same name) claims that Kirinyaga County Governor Anne Waiguru was on August 20 arrested and allegedly taken to Nairobi for interrogations over abuse of office.
Waiguru arrested!
Is driven to Nairobi #Kirinyaga1MillionEggs pic.twitter.com/Q0IL8QJ24O
— Daily Mail Kenya (@DailyMailKenya) August 20, 2020
The same information was also by other Twitter users on the same day, August 20.
Kirinyaga Governor H.E Anne Waiguru has been arrested & is on transpo to Nairobi from Kagio.
— Mapesa Kuria, OGW. (@kuria_mapesa) August 20, 2020
Background
Governor Waiguru was on June 9 impeached by the County Assembly of Kirinyaga, on grounds of an alleged violation of the constitution, abuse of office and gross misconduct.
Among the accusations that Members of the County Assembly(MCAs) held towards the governor’s impeachment include an alleged Kshs 10.6 million that Governor Waiguru reportedly allocated herself in the form of travel allowances for foreign trips she allegedly never made.
She appeared before the Senate on June 23, as the final step in approving or dismissing a governor’s impeachment as provided for by the constitution of Kenya.
On June 26, the senate dismissed accusations cited by Kirinyaga MCAs as unsubstantiated and nullified Governor Waiguru’s impeachment.
Verification
In light of the accusations that led to her impeachment, the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) on Thursday, August 20 raided Governor Waiguru’s home and offices.
According to a statement issued by EACC, the governor’s premises were ransacked as part of investigations regarding Kshs 23 million public funds that were allegedly allocated as travel allowances for the governor and other county officials.
PRESS RELEASE: INQUIRY INTO ALLEGATIONS OF IRREGULAR PAYMENTS OF TRAVEL ALLOWANCES IN THE SUM OF KSHS. 23 MILLION TO OFFICIALS OF THE COUNTY GOVERNMENT OF KIRINYAGA. pic.twitter.com/cArdJxGPvM
— EACC (@EACCKenya) August 20, 2020
The statement does not mention the arrest of the governor or any Kirinyaga County official on August 20.
Ms Waiguru also issued a press statement on the same. This did not include any information saying that she had been arrested.
MY PRESS STATEMENT ON RAIDS BY EACC, AUGUST 20, 2020https://t.co/K63rlsBZbi pic.twitter.com/1OOl7O9Vwn
— Anne Waiguru (@AnneWaiguru) August 20, 2020
Moreover, there are no media reports or footage indicating that the governor was arrested.
Verdict
Reports that Kirinyaga Governor Anne Waiguru was arrested on August 20 are FALSE.
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