The relentless dragnet of the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission has snared another tier of regional leadership. Three prominent Garissa County figures are facing the gavel over a multimillion-shilling syndicate.

The arrest of Balambala Ward MCA Abdi Ibrahim Daar and two senior technocrats exposes the systemic hemorrhage of public funds at the devolved level. As President Ruto’s administration faces mounting pressure to curb graft, this Ksh 51.4 million (approx. $340,000) scandal strikes at the heart of Kenya's economic vulnerability.

The Architecture of the Syndicate

In a coordinated dawn operation on February 22, 2026, operatives from the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) descended on Garissa, apprehending three key individuals woven deeply into the county’s financial fabric. Alongside MCA Abdi Ibrahim Daar, detectives arrested Mohamud Dubow Korane, the former Director of Accounting Services, and Yussuf Bethe Ali, the former Senior Principal Economist for the County Government of Garissa.

The trio stands accused of orchestrating a sophisticated procurement and payment fraud network. According to preliminary charge sheets prepared by the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP), the suspects colluded to facilitate fraudulent payments totaling precisely Ksh 51.4 million. The funds were allegedly siphoned from county coffers through phantom projects, inflated invoices, and shell companies linked to proxies of the accused.

Devolution’s Dark Underbelly

Since the advent of devolution in 2013, billions of shillings have been channeled to Kenya’s 47 counties to spur grassroots development. However, counties like Garissa have frequently found themselves in the crosshairs of the Auditor General for massive financial irregularities. The arrest of a sitting Member of the County Assembly—an individual constitutionally mandated to oversight the executive’s expenditure—highlights the deeply entrenched nature of the rot.

When the legislature colludes with the executive’s accounting officers, the fundamental checks and balances of the devolved system collapse. The involvement of the former Director of Accounting and the Senior Principal Economist suggests a high-level manipulation of the Integrated Financial Management Information System (IFMIS), a platform designed to prevent precisely this type of leakage.

The EACC’s Widening Net

The arraignment of the three officials at the Garissa Law Courts for plea taking represents a critical victory for the EACC’s North Eastern regional office. The anti-graft body has been under intense public scrutiny to move beyond low-level arrests and dismantle the high-level cartels bleeding county governments dry.

• Asset Recovery: Beyond criminal prosecution, the EACC has signaled its intention to pursue civil litigation to seize assets—including real estate and luxury vehicles—acquired using the embezzled Ksh 51.4 million.
• Systemic Audit: The arrests are expected to trigger a wider, forensic audit of Garissa County’s financial operations during the tenure of the accused technocrats, potentially implicating higher-ranking political figures.
• Public Trust: For the residents of Balambala Ward, the scandal is a bitter pill, representing stolen boreholes, absent medical supplies, and crumbling rural roads.

A Warning Shot to County Cartels

This high-profile prosecution is designed to serve as a potent deterrent. As the accused stand before the magistrate to answer to charges of abuse of office, conspiracy to commit an economic crime, and fraudulent acquisition of public property, the reverberations will be felt in county assemblies nationwide.

The state has indicated it will strongly oppose bail, arguing that the suspects possess the financial muscle and political influence to intimidate witnesses and tamper with documentary evidence.

"Devolution was meant to decentralize development, not democratize corruption; today’s arraignment is a necessary step toward reclaiming the promise of the 2010 Constitution," stated a leading civil society advocate monitoring the proceedings.