Busia County Turns into a Den of Looters as County Speaker Fredrick Odilo Implicated in Multi-Million Looting Scandal

Busia County Assembly Speaker Fredrick Odilo is under investigation by the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) over alleged looting of public funds.

Odilo, who also chairs the County Assembly Service Board, and Clerk Caroline Omukitet have been accused of abuse of office, procurement irregularities, and mismanagement of public resources.

The allegations stem from the tender for the supply, installation, and commissioning of an E-Parliament System awarded to Optic Technologies during the 2023/2024 financial year.

“The Commission, pursuant to its constitutional and statutory mandate as set out in Article 252(1)(a) and (d) of the Constitution and Section 11 of the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission Act, 2011, is investigating allegations of abuse of office, procurement irregularities, and theft of public funds by members and senior staff of the County Assembly Service Board of Busia involving the tender for the supply, installation, and commissioning of an E-Parliament System awarded to Optic Technologies during the financial year 2023/2024,” the letter states.

As part of the ongoing probe, the EACC has requested a wide range of original documents, including the County Assembly’s procurement plan and budget for 2023/2024, conflict-of-interest registers, tender documents, evaluation reports, payment vouchers, IFMIS reports, and bank account details of the successful bidder.

The documents are to be handed over to EACC officers by September 2, 2025.

This comes just days after EACC  launched a major raid targeting senior officials in the Busia County Government over an alleged Sh1.4 billion tender scandal.

The operation saw coordinated searches conducted at the offices and private residences of 16 officials suspected of involvement in procurement irregularities, conflict of interest, theft of public funds, and unexplained wealth.

According to investigators, the case revolved around tenders worth Sh1.4 billion that were awarded during the 2023/2024 and 2024/2025 financial years.

The contracts are alleged to have been irregularly issued to 26 proxy companies linked to family members and close associates of the suspects.

The commission claimed the scheme was deliberately designed to channel public funds into private pockets through fraudulent procurement practices.

The officials specifically targeted in the operation were County Executive Committee (CEC) Member for Finance, Topista Nyati Wanyama, CEC Member for Housing, Peter Rasumule Odima Harris, CEC Member for Youth and Sports, Paul Olunga-Okweye, Chief Officer for Finance, Gibson Ojiambo-Wafula, Director of Budget, Evans Wandera-Wangata, and Director of Supply Chain Management, Leonard Omancha.