Civil society leader Peter Agoro arrested over alleged Ksh.3M extortion

Peter Agoro, the chairperson of the Consortium of Civil Societies in Kenya, was on Tuesday arrested over alleged extortion of Ksh.3 million from a state corporation CEO.

Agoro was arrested by Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) detectives at a Nairobi hotel where he had allegedly gone to receive the amount, according to the integrity watchdog.

EACC spokesperson Eric Ngumbi said Agoro demanded the bribe “as an inducement and facilitation fee so as not to pursue and publicize accusations of procurement malpractices he claimed to have against the parastatal CEO.”

The civil society leader reportedly accepted the complainant’s plea to reduce the amount to Ksh. 2 million paid in two instalments; Ksh.1.5 million on Tuesday and Ksh.500,000 later.

The state corporation CEO, whom EACC did not identify, notified the commission of the matter.

“The commission undertook an operation this morning leading to the arrest of the suspect after receiving the first instalment of Ksh.1.5 million which was in USD10,800 and Ksh.100,000,” EACC said.

Agoro was detained at the EACC Integrity Centre police station.