Top NLC Officials Have Their Homes Raided By EACC Over SGR Compensation

National Land Commission officials had their homes raided by the EACC detectives in a probe into claims of corruption in the payment of Standard Gauge Railways (SGR) money. Chairman Muhammad Swazuri and vice chair Abigael Mbagaya were among those whose homes were raided.

EACC officials said their probe into the claims is ongoing as they are still gathering  evidence. Also affected was the home of the valuation and Taxation Director Salome Munubi, director of finance Francis Mugo, manager Mary Ngundo among others. Other officials were summoned to the EACC offices for questioning.

Ms Mbagaya said that some EACC officials had been to her Nairobi home but she was away. “I am out of the city but I am informed some officials came and conducted a search. They did not find anything during the morning incident,” she said.  Payments made in respect of compensation of SGR are said to have been riddled with corruption. This is being probed by among others, Parliament, police and EACC.

The officials took away documents to facilitate their investigation, but there was no arrest made. Swazuri has been under a parliamentary committee investigation following a complaint by former journalist Mugo Njeru who claimed that he bribed him to facilitate compensation of his prime land. Njeru and his wife Edith Wairimu accused Swazuri of demanding a bribe of Sh1.2 million to be compensated for their land which the government acquired for the Standard Gauge Railway project.

Swazuri has denied the claims and insists that the parliamentary committee did not have powers to investigate allegations of bribery and corruption as the mandate exclusively belongs to the police and EACC. “By purporting to do so, the committee is acting in excess of jurisdiction by usurping the exclusive roles of the police and EACC,” he argued.