A senior official serving in the Kitui County Government and two drivers attached to the department are reportedly under investigation by detectives from the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) over alleged loss and irregular movement of public resources.
Multiple sources within the county government and investigative circles told Channel 15 News that the three recorded statements with DCI officers in Kitui earlier this week following complaints linked to the disappearance of county equipment said to be worth millions of shillings.
Sources familiar with the matter claim investigators are examining whether county vehicles and staff may have been used in the irregular movement of public equipment under unclear circumstances.
According to insiders within the county administration, concerns had reportedly been raised internally over repeated cases involving missing equipment before the matter was escalated to investigators.
Channel 15 News has further established that senior officials within the county administration allegedly pushed for internal accountability following growing concerns over the reported loss of county property.
Sources also claim that a similar incident involving disappearance of county equipment had earlier been reported within the same department this year, prompting renewed scrutiny from both county officials and investigators.
However, Channel 15 News could not independently verify all the claims by the time of publication, and no criminal charges had been announced against any of the individuals said to be under investigation.
The developments are now likely to pile pressure on Governor Julius Malombe’s administration to initiate an internal audit and establish whether public resources may have been lost through possible weaknesses in asset management and oversight systems within county departments.
The matter has also sparked calls from governance stakeholders and sections of county staff for the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) to step in and investigate the alleged loss of public resources.
By the time of publication, neither DCI Kitui nor the County Government of Kitui had issued an official public statement regarding the matter.
The story is developing.
