EACC Statement on The Arrest of Garissa County Officials Over KES 51.4 Million Fraud

The Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) has arrested three senior officials of the County Government of Garissa to be arraigned before Court over fraudulent payments amounting to Kes51,495,516 made to a private company namely Qorjarey Enterprise & General Supplies Limited for goods and services not delivered during the financial years 2021/2022 & 2022-2023.

The arrested suspects are:

1. Mr. Abdi Ibrahim Daar – Member of County Assembly (MCA), Balambala Ward and sole Director of Qorjarey Enterprise & General Supplies Limited.
2. Mr. Mohamud Dubow Korane – former Director, Accounting Services, County Government of Garissa
3. Mr. Yussuf Bethe Ali – former Senior Principal Economist, County Government of Garissa

The Commission commenced investigations following allegations that the County Government of Garissa irregularly and fraudulently paid Kes51,495,516 to Qorjarey Enterprise & General Supplies Limited between August 2021 and September 2022 purported to be for the supply of emergency relief food items and water trucking services, which were not delivered to the County Government.

Investigations established as follows:

i) Mr. Abdi Ibrahim Daar, who served as Social Development Officer at the County Government of Garissa between 2018 and 2022 and is currently the MCA for Balambala Ward, is the sole director and bank signatory of Qorjarey Enterprise & General Supplies Limited.

ii) The company was irregularly paid Kes51,495,516 for no goods, works, or services delivered.

iii) There was neither a budgetary provision nor an approved procurement plan for the purported emergency relief food supplies and water trucking services during the Financial Year 2021/2022.

iv) Qorjarey Enterprise & General Supplies Limited was not among the pre-qualified suppliers for the Financial Years 2021/2022 and 2022/2023.

v) Documents were forged to facilitate and support the irregular payments.

vi) Mr. Mohamud Dubow Korane and Mr. Yussuf Bethe Ali processed and approved the fraudulent payments in favour of the company without any procurement process and for services not rendered.

Upon conclusion of investigations, the Commission forwarded the investigation file to the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) who upon independent review concurred with EACC’s recommendation to charge the three suspects, with the following charges:

i. Conspiracy to commit an offence of corruption contrary to Section 47A (3) of the Anti-Corruption and Economic Crimes Act. ii. Abuse of office contrary to Section 46 of the Anti-Corruption and Economic Crimes Act. iii. Forgery contrary to Section 345 of the Penal Code. iv. Fraudulent acquisition of public property contrary to Section 45 (1) of the Anti-Corruption and Economic Crimes Act.

The three suspects, who were arrested on Sunday, 22nd February 2026, are scheduled to be arraigned before the Garissa Law Courts today, 23rd February 2026 for plea taking.

In addition to the criminal proceedings, the Commission will institute a civil suit to recover the unlawful payments from the suspects.

The Commission reiterates its commitment to safeguarding public resources and urges public officers to uphold integrity and accountability in the management of public funds.

STEPHEN K. KARUGA, HSC HEAD, CORPORATE AFFAIRS AND COMMUNICATION ETHICS AND ANTI-CORRUPTION COMMISSION