Ex-Taita Taveta County official charged over alleged Ksh.12M fraud, freed on Ksh.1M cash bail

Former Taita Taveta County Director of Political Affairs Geoffrey Kimonge Mbogo has been arrested and charged over allegations of fraudulently acquiring public funds and failing to account for more than Ksh.12 million during his tenure at the county government.

According to the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC), investigations established that Mbogo fraudulently acquired public funds and failed to account for Ksh.12,458,990 while serving at the Taita Taveta County Government.

Upon completion of investigations, the commission forwarded the inquiry file to the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (ODPP), which approved his prosecution on charges of fraudulent acquisition of public property and deceiving a principal.

Mbogo was arrested on Tuesday and processed at Voi Police Station before being arraigned at the Anti-Corruption Court in Voi on Wednesday.

Court documents seen by Citizen Digital indicate that the former county official denied the charges and entered a plea of not guilty.

In the first count, the prosecution alleges that between November 20, 2015 and December 16, 2016, while serving as Director of Political Affairs at the Taita Taveta County Government, Mbogo fraudulently acquired public property amounting to Ksh.8,303,021.

The charge sheet states that he allegedly obtained the funds for various activities he purported had taken place in different locations, which the prosecution said was "a fact you knew to be false."

In the second count, Mbogo is accused of deceiving his principal by applying for various imprest warrants totalling Ksh.8,303,021 for activities that allegedly never took place.

The prosecution contends that the accused knowingly misled the county government to its detriment by claiming the funds were required for activities that had been undertaken.

Following his arraignment on Wednesday, the court released Mbogo on a cash bail of Ksh.1 million or an alternative bond of Ksh.2 million with one surety of a similar amount.

The court further directed the accused to deposit his passport in court and barred him from leaving the country's jurisdiction without prior approval from the court.

The matter will be mentioned for pre-trial directions on July 1, 2026.