Kimilili MP Didmus Barasa has fought off claims he extorted a Sh2 million bribe from a businesswoman on the pretext he would influence the award of multi-million shilling road tenders to her.
The Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) had summoned the MP following the complaint by the woman who claims she gave the politician the money in December 2023 and has been evading her since.
According to EACC, the woman had alleged that the MP told her he was the chairperson of the parliamentary Roads committee and also in charge of roads in his Kimilili constituency.
She claimed the politician informed her he could assist her in securing many lucrative tenders if she agreed to partner with him by parting with the cash.
The woman claimed that after she paid the money, the MP blocked her calls and refused to meet her.
EACC summoned the MP on August 14 but he allegedly ignored it. The agency issued other summons requiring the MP to appear before the commission tomorrow (Tuesday).
Mr. Barasa has vowed to defy the summons saying the money in question was a loan and not a bribe. According to the MP, the dispute is civil, not criminal.
When the Nation contacted the lawmaker over the latest EACC summons, Barasa referred us to a video he had posted on his social media responding to the allegations by EACC.
The lawmaker said the money was loaned to him by the woman whom he said is a former gubernatorial candidate.
According to the MP, the feud escalated after they disagreed over the repayment of a debt.
“I would like to bring to your attention that the deposit of Sh2,000,000 to my cooperative bank account was a soft loan from the said politician who unsuccessfully ran for governor in a county in Kenya on December 13, 2023.
"It’s clear from the documents forwarded to the bank to facilitate the transfer, which indicates a soft loan; you can peruse them. Why I haven’t paid because of the dispute in the contractual conditions is none of your business,” Mr Barasa said.
He added that the matter had been reported to the Directorate of Criminal Investigations in Karen and dismissed for lack of jurisdiction as it was a purely civil matter.
“This is, therefore, to inform you that I will not honour the summons as it is pure abuse of the Commission's mandate. You cannot invite me to interpret for you the reasons why the money was transferred when you have read the documents supporting the transfer of the funds because even though the amount transferred is over $1 million, you are required to produce supporting documents,” he added.
“If I have not honoured the financial obligation, it is because of the disagreement between me and the person. I have to tell the EACC that you have a serious mandate according to our constitution. You have no role to play in assisting the said person to recover the loan given to me as a loan. You have documents that show why the loan was transferred to my account. Let the person go to the civil court and we will meet there.”
The Kimilili MP noted that he would instead send a lawyer to appear on his behalf at the EACC on the said date.
