Martha Karua Turns On EACC After Oparanya's Arrest
The Azimio la Umoja principal claimed that she was blocked from seeing Oparanya at the EACC offices at the Integrity Centre in Nairobi where he was detained
Marvin Chege 
Narc Kenya Party leader Martha Karua on Thursday, August 24 claimed that the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) had acted outside their mandate while arresting former Kakamega Governor Wycliffe Oparanya.
In a statement, the Azimio la Umoja principal claimed that she was blocked from seeing Oparanya at the EACC offices at the Integrity Centre in Nairobi where he was detained, when she was accompanied by other lawyers.
The former Gichugu Member of Parliament (MP) also alleged that EACC officers had dictated who was authorized to visit the Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) Deputy Party Leader despite protests from politicians from the opposition Azimio coalition.
Former Kakamega governor, Wycliffe Oparanya. /FILE
"You behaved in an opaque manner and abused power in his arrest and detention. You barred us as lawyers from accessing Oparanya at your offices and dictated who could or could not access him thus violating the law," she claimed.
Hours after the arrest, the EACC claimed in their statement that Oparanya was arrested due to ongoing investigations into alleged embezzlement of public funds amounting to over Ksh1.3 billion from Kakamega County Government during his tenure.
However, Karua challenged EACC's integrity of the statement, wondering whether the timing of the arrest and the statement explaining why he was arrested had political motives.
"As public officers, you are required to operate within the law. Is your statement factual and accurate or is it political?" she posed.
There was drama at Oparanya’s residence after he declined to board a vehicle belonging to the EACC when he was picked up for questioning from his home in Karen, Nairobi. Oparanya instead opted to board his lawyer, Ken Nyaundi’s vehicle but an EACC officer directed that two police officers also board the same vehicle.
Oparanya was also grilled over alleged procurement irregularities at Integrity House but was released thereafter.
Still, the former governor will be required to present himself for further questioning in the coming days before a file is presented to the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (ODPP) with recommendations on charges to be preferred.
During his arrest, Oparanya was accompanied by Nairobi Senator Edwin Sifuna alongside lawyers Danstan Omari and Ndegwa Njiru among other Azimio leaders.
"They raided the houses without a search warrant and they even went further to arrest the spouses. This has never happened. I will be talking with Azimio to instruct me to move to disband the EACC," Omari threatened.
The EACC detectives also conducted a raid at the former governor’s Mabole rural home in the Butere constituency in connection with corruption at the county government.
The detectives based at the regional offices in Kakamega arrived at Oparanya’s residence at around 8 a.m. and cordoned it off, not allowing anybody in or out of the compound.
EACC offices at Integrity Centre in Nairobi. /FILE
