Turkana governor Jeremiah Lomorukai has moved to court seeking an anticipatory bail to avoid arrest by the Ethics and Anti-corruption Commission (EACC).
in an application filed at the Eldoret High Court through his lawyer Prof Tom Ojienda, Lomorukai says that the anti-graft agency is planning to ambush him with an arrest.
"The Applicant (Lomorukai) is facing an imminent arrest by the officers from the 1st Respondent (EACC) based on the communication by their CEO Twalib Mbarak issued on the Thursday, 22nd September 2022 while addressing the induction of Members of Parliament at the Safari Park Hotel. The Applicant is apprehensive that he is likely to be arrested after the 1st Respondent shared his name to the leading National Television Channels for the news bulletin on Friday 23rd September 2022 at 7pm and 9 pm broadcasting that his arrest was impending. However, there was no any formal communication to the Applicant to present himself to any police station which means that the Respondents are planning an ambush on the Applicant," Ojienda said in court papers.
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According to the suit papers, the first-term governor has been facing harassments by police officers from Eldoret who have been summoning him.
"The Applicant has been on the end of continued harassment from 1St Respondent police officers attached at Eldoret calling to appear at the station without any justification whatsoever," added Ojienda.
EACC allegations
Lomorukai is accused of having forged a degree and diploma certificates purported to have been issued by the Kenya Methodist University.
According to EACC, the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) turned a blind eye to their recommendation before the clearance in the August 9 polls.
"Following investigations, EACC established that both the governor's Degree and Diploma certificates were fake thus rendering the governor liable to criminal prosecution," EACC said in a previous statement.
In case the plot to prosecute him sails through, Lomorukai will face forgery charges contrary to Section 345 as read with 349 of the Penal Code. He also faces the charge of giving false information to EACC and uttering false documents contrary to section 353 of the Penal Code.
The Governor, elected on an ODM ticket, was among 241 candidates flagged by the EACC as having outstanding integrity issues before the August polls.
