A Nairobi court has authorised the anti-corruption watchdog to search the homes and offices of Nyamira Governor Amos Nyaribo, uncovering a sweeping investigation into allegations of graft and economic crime amounting to at least Kshs 20 million.
The Chief Magistrate’s Court at Milimani granted the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) a warrant to raid premises, including the Governor’s Karen residence, seeking electronic devices, financial records, and title deeds believed to be crucial to the probe.
The order, issued in Miscellaneous Criminal Application No. E/4-69 of 2025, empowers EACC investigator Evans Gitonga and other officers to enter “the offices, business and residential premises of Amos Nyaribo situate at Karen Rhino Ark-Karen Hills Estate, River View, House No.41, within Nairobi City County, and any other office, business and residential premises wherever they may be situated within the Republic of Kenya.”
In court documents, the EACC, represented by Advocate Elizabeth Gicheru, detailed three active inquiries against the governor. The central allegation involves the irregular reimbursement of housing allowances totalling Kshs 13 million to Governor Nyaribo between the 2017/18 and 2021/22 financial years.
“The Commission is conducting investigations… into allegations that officials at the County Government of Nyamira irregularly reimbursed housing allowances to the Governor of Nyamira County, Mr. Amos Nyaribo, in the aggregate sum of Kshs. 13,000,000/=”, stated an affidavit sworn by Investigator Evans Gitonga.
A further Kshs 5 million is under scrutiny for what the EACC terms “irregular ex-gratia claims” paid to the governor despite his medical expenses being covered by the county government. The commission is also investigating wider claims of “procurement irregularities, unlawful and irregular extension of contracts, [and] fraudulent payments for incomplete works.”
The EACC argued that a swift and unannounced search was critical to prevent the destruction of evidence. The agency expressed a firm belief that Governor Nyaribo was in possession of documents and devices that could prove essential to the case.
“Based on information obtained in the course of inquiries, the Applicant reasonably suspects that crucial evidence are in the custody or control of the Respondent,” Gitonga’s affidavit read. It further asserted that “there is a real and imminent risk that, if a warrant is not granted, the Respondent will tamper with, destroy, conceal or alter the said electronic devices, documents and records or otherwise frustrate the course of justice.”
Citing the urgency of the operation, the court granted the EACC permission to execute the search between the hours of 6:00 am and 6:00 pm. The warrant also provides for the use of “reasonable force” to gain entry if lawful access is resisted, a standard provision in such orders.
In a move that underscores the national scope of the investigation, the magistrate dispensed with the normal requirement for the warrant to be endorsed by any other court outside of Nairobi’s jurisdiction. This allows EACC officers to act immediately on any leads pointing to other properties across the country linked to the governor.
Advocate Elizabeth Gicheru, drawing the application for the EACC, outlined the commission’s undertaking to handle seized material with care, stating that “any material preserved by the Applicant during the search will be preserved intact, and disclosed before this Honourable Court, and that a full inventory of all items seized shall be prepared, a copy given to the Respondent or left at the premises.”
The court has scheduled a follow-up mention for a progress report later this year, marking the next step in a legal process that places a sitting county governor under intense scrutiny for alleged economic crimes and corrupt conduct.
