Kenyan Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) detectives Tuesday raided the office and homes of Migori Governor Okoth Obado and confiscated, among other things, eight firearms, several bank statements and electronics.

HEAVILY GUARDED

Five of the firearms were recovered in Nairobi while sources within EACC said they recovered another three in Migori. The Nation (Kenya) could not independently authenticate the claims because the homes were heavily guarded.

The detectives pounced at dawn, and spent hours rummaging through documents that could help in their investigations into alleged misappropriation of Sh2 billion in Migori County.

FIREARMS ACT

The Firearms Act is silent on the number of pistols a licensed civilian should own, but is specific on the type of firearms to be licensed for.

Director of Criminal Investigations George Kinoti said the firearms would be subjected to ballistic examinations and verification of certificates at the Central Firearms Bureau (CFB).

60 OFFICERS

It is not clear how long the investigations and the studying of the documents would take, but EACC retained the electronics and the documents that were seized.

The rural home of the governor remained highly guarded for the period that the detectives were looking for the documents.

USING PROXIES

The team of about 60 officers from Nairobi and Kisii, accompanied by heavily armed security personnel, was earlier in the day at the county government offices, where a similar operation was carried out.

The county boss is accused of using proxies, among them his relatives, to siphon Sh2 billion from the coffers of the county government, according to an affidavit filed in court by the anti-corruption watchdog.

PALATIAL HOME

The detectives turned upside down the office of the county chief and carted away several documents they believed would help them to nail the governor.

Security officers deployed at the home watched from a distance as EACC team took charge of the palatial home for several hours.

Mr Obado was, however, away at his Lavington home in Nairobi, where other detectives were also looking for clues.

INCOME SOURCES

EACC has been investigating how the county chief allegedly abused his position to steal public funds through companies registered by his relatives.

In a period of three years, these newly registered companies had transacted Sh1,971,179,180 deals exclusively with the county government, which was glaringly inconsistent with their known legitimate sources of income.

FICTITIOUS CONTRACTS

EACC investigators are said to be finalising their graft investigations before taking suspects to court.

"The commission received credible information that a few persons well known to be proxies of the governor registered several companies for the purpose of fraudulent acquisition of public funds through fictitious contracts," sources from EACC revealed.

ACCOUNTS FROZEN

Last week, the High Court ordered the unfreezing of one of the accounts believed to be a proxy used by Mr Obado to siphon the Sh2 billion.

Anti-Corruption Court Judge Hedwig Ong'udi ordered that an account operated by businessman Ernest Omondi be freed after nearly seven months of being frozen.

But Mr Obado's handlers have said their boss was clean and was a target of witch-hunt by the investigators.

Sources said some arrests could be made in the coming days regarding the corruption claims.