I will not be cowed or intimidated: Wamatangi says over EACC raid

Alongside Wamatangi, eight senior county officials were also summoned and taken to the EACC headquarters in Nairobi as investigations into procurement fraud and conflict of interest intensified.

One by one, they arrived at the EACC and avoided the glare of cameras, before retreating to a closed-door meeting that lasted for over 6 hours.

Speaking to the press outside EACC headquarters, the defiant governor dismissed the allegations as politically motivated.

"Nilikua najitayarisha kuenda kazini… kabla ya saa 11 asubuhi (5AM) nikaambiwa na watu wangu wakasema hapo nje kumejaa polisi. Nikauliza wanataka nini, nikaambiwa wanasema wanataka kukagua," he said. 

The arrests come after months of pressure from Kiambu leaders who accused the governor’s administration of presiding over the systemic theft of public resources. 

Last year, Kiambu Senator Karungo Wa Thang’wa alleged that the county reverted to a manual payroll system to enable payments to ghost workers—claims that implicated officials in the loss of over Ksh.390 million. 

Late last year, a report by the Auditor General showed discrepancies in the county government's expenditures.

In response, Wamatangi claimed that he would not be intimidated by his political detractors, citing that it was a plot to deter him from delivering services to Kiambu County residents. 

"I am not afraid, and I will not be cowed or intimidated. I will stand by the people of Kiambu and work for them….this is optically motivated," he added. 

The operation is part of an ongoing investigation into suspected financial malpractice and conflict of interest, with EACC boss Abdi Mohamud confirming that county officials allegedly traded with the county government and received payments totaling Ksh1.5 billion. 

The arrested officials include top county executives and a businessman linked to a company flagged in the investigations.