Kibra Chief Arrested For Soliciting KSh 50k Bribe From Pastor To Protect His Church From Demolition

• EACC has announced the arrest of a chief and village elder in Kibra Laini Saba location for bribing a pastor
• According to EACC, the two men stated that the money they demanded would protect the PAG church from being demolished
• This comes days after Interior CS Kithure Kindiki warned that the government will not hesitate to use force against those occupying riparian lands

The Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) has arrested Kibera Laina Saba location assistant chief Irungu Kabugi and his village elder Isaya Irekwa for demanding KSh 50,000 from the pastor of the Pentecostal Assemblies of God (PAG).

According to a statement shared by EACC, the suspects demanded the money as a bribe so as not to demolish the church, which the officials declared to be constructed on riparian land.

"The officials threatened to demolish the church, purporting that it was part of ongoing government initiatives to address the current flood disaster," the statement read in part.

After being processed at the EACC Integrity Centre Police Station, the pair was released on bail pending further enforcement actions.

Did the govt order the evacuation of those on riparian land?

This comes days after Interior Cabinet Secretary Kithure Kindiki warned that the government will not hesitate to use force against those occupying riparian corridors.

During the national tree planting campaign on Friday, May 10, the CS acknowledged that many Kenyans had occupied areas designated as riparian lands.

Kindiki cautioned that the government would not show leniency towards individuals occupying riverbeds, asserting partial responsibility for the country's floods.

The CS revealed that as per the law, nobody is allowed to use or occupy any land less than 30 meters from rivers.

Police arrested for demanding bribe

Elsewhere, a police officer accused of extorting a KSh 30,000 bribe from a Kenyan at Kasarani Stadium Police Station was arrested.

There was drama and a scuffle when the officer, identified as Paul Kamau Mbugua, began wailing after finding he was under arrest by colleagues from the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC).

In the final moments of a dying horse that he had maintained, a police officer was heard wailing uncontrollably as his colleagues apprehended him.

Proofreading by Otukho Jackson, a multimedia journalist and copy editor at TUKO.co.ke