Lawyer throws ‘bribe’ in the toilet to escape arrest

There was drama in Meru town after fire fighters were called by the Ethics and Anti Corruption Commission (EACC) officers to demolish a pit latrine after a community Paralegal Officer dumped money inside it after she was nabbed receiving a bribe.

According to EACC Upper Eastern Regional Director Ignatius Wekesa, the paralegal officer-Judith Wangari dumped 7,000 shillings in the latrine after she got wind that the money she had received was a trap to nab her.

Wekesa said that Wangari had been approached in April this year by a client identified as Joseph Gitonga who was seeking custody of his child after they separated with his wife.

She allegedly asked Gitonga to give her Ksh 40,000 in order to win the case against his estranged wife and avoid paying a lot of money for the child’s uptake.

Gitonga said that he handed her Ksh 15,000 the same day and another Ksh 15,000 two weeks later but after he saw the case was not favouring him, he decided to visit EACC offices in Isiolo County to report the incident.

Mr. Wekesa says that his officers immediately laid a trap for her (Wangari) using dusted cash and told him to deliver the Ksh 10,000 to her.

The paralegal officer took the bait but when she realized that EACC officers were on her case, she threw it to a pit latrine.

Fire fighters were called and retrieved Ksh 7,000 from the latrine.

Wekesa added that further investigations are ongoing and once they are complete, the suspect will be arraigned in court.

Josiah Mugo contributed to this report