By Dorothy Musyoka
The Chief for Bulla Mzuri Location in Garissa County, Abdirahman Shafe Yussuf faces charges for alleged extortion of money from refugees seeking service from his office.
The suspect was caught in the act during an operation mounted by Ethics Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) Garissa Regional Office on Thursday following an inquiry into numerous complaints from victims.
The Chief has reportedly become notorious for bribe demands in an ongoing de-registration of fingerprints from the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) system.
“Before permitting the process, he allegedly requires every service seeker to pay him Kes. 3000 as “consultation fee” and a further Kes.10,000 in “facilitation fee” despite the service being free of charge,” the EACC report read in part.
According to the EACC, before its intervention, all service seekers were required to first pay the illegal charges to the Chief’s accomplice operating from Motor Vehicle Registration Number KCY 656W (White Probox) parked outside the Vetting hall, as a mandatory condition for one to be processed for the service.
In the course of the operation, the Commission seized approximately Kes. 139,000, suspected to be part of the day’s earnings, along with a roster of 85 individuals who were double registered, alongside the corresponding amounts paid by each.
“During the operation, the Commission recovered from the Chief Kes. 139,000 believed to be part of the day’s collection and a list of 85 double registered applicants indicating the amount paid by each,” confirmed the EACC.
Following this, the suspect was brought to the EACC Garissa Regional Office for processing and subsequently released on police bond, awaiting the conclusion of the investigation.
The Commission condemns such despicable actions by public officers who take advantage of vulnerable service seekers to extort money from them in breach of public trust.
However, the commission urged service seekers and other persons visiting service delivery points to continue exposing public officials demanding bribes in order to provide the very services they are employed to deliver.