Kenya, May 20 -- The Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) has taken Trans Nzoia County Governor George Natembeya to court today. He is facing charges for having a conflict of interest and illegally obtaining public property.

In front of Principal Magistrate Hon. C.N. Ondieki, Governor Natembeya pleaded not guilty to the charges.

He was allowed to get his freedom after paying a bond of 1 million Kenyan shillings or a cash bail of 500,000 Kenyan shillings. Additionally, he cannot go to his office for 60 days starting today.

The charges are based on claims that Governor Natembeya received kickbacks totalling 3,252,568 Kenyan shillings between January 1, 2023, and April 30, 2025.

These kickbacks were allegedly given by Mercy Chelangat, who runs Lyma Agro Science Limited and Maira Stores-companies doing business with the county government.

According to the investigation, the money was first sent to a man named Mr. Masungo, who then transferred it to the governor using M-Pesa, a mobile payment service.

It was found that Mr Masungo had a bank account at SBM Bank under the name of Easterly Winds Limited. This company received money from the county government and then gave it to Governor Natembeya.

After completing their investigation, the EACC sent the case to the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP), who reviewed it and approved the charges.

Besides this case, the EACC is also looking into Governor Natembeya and four other people for a different issue involving irregular procurement and fake payments totalling 1.4 billion Kenyan shillings during the financial years 2022/2023 and 2024/2025.

As part of this wider investigation, the EACC searched the homes and offices of the Governor and his associates yesterday.

This dramatic operation is part of an ongoing probe into issues like improper procurement, abuse of power, bribery, and stealing public money.

Early findings suggest that the governor may have improperly influenced decisions to give contracts to companies connected to him.

The EACC emphasises its commitment to fighting corruption and protecting public resources from misuse by officials. The investigation is ongoing, and more actions will be taken according to the law.

Published by HT Digital Content Services with permission from Bana Kenya.