The Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC), through its Western Regional Office, arrested the Busia Land Registrar Collins Aiela Liyayi, who demanded and received a bribe of Sh10,000 from a complainant.
This was in order to release a title deed he had processed but withheld pending payment of the bribe as “release fees.”
The money was treated when he received the same.
He was arrested in an operation mounted by the EACC officials following investigations into multiple complaints from Busia residents that the Land Registrar has made it a routine to withhold titles processed for members of the public seeking services at the Lands Registry, after which he demands bribes in order to release them.
The suspect was escorted to the EACC Western Regional Office in Bungoma where he was processed and later booked at Bungoma Police Station pending further processing and possible arraignment, officials said.
The operation is part of the ongoing crackdown on bribery in public service delivery to improve access to quality services for all citizens, EACC boss Abdi Mohamud said.
“The Commission will continue to scale up intelligence gathering and surveillance targeting public institutions that provide essential services and are prone to bribery,” he said.
The commission has been staging operations to address various complaints from the public in various sectors. This has seen dozens of public officials arrested.
The probe into the cases are at various stages and some have been taken to court.
Mohamud said they will use all means to address the menace.
