The arrests include former Isiolo South MP Hon. Abdi Tepo and his wife, Halima Gura Roka, a quality assurance officer at the defunct National Hospital Insurance Fund (NHIF).
The MP allegedly opened fire on EACC detectives who had gone to his residence for a search operation, targeting his wife, a prime suspect in the multi-million-dollar NHIF graft scandal under investigation by the Commission, leading to the couple’s arrest on Thursday afternoon.
During the operation, detectives recovered two briefcases full of US dollars, estimated to be in millions, as well as assorted chemicals (in powder and liquid form) suspected to be used for making fake notes. Samples of the notes tested at the EACC Integrated Financial Forensic Lab were counterfeit.
OCS EACC Police Station handed over the former MP, his wife, and various recovered items, including the fake notes, Ceska Pistol with an expired firearm permit, and assorted chemicals, to the DCI under whose jurisdiction the matter lies.
The operation targeted seven prime suspects in the NHIF scam, including the MP’s wife, a former NHIF Quality Assurance Officer, the Eastleigh NHIF Branch Manager, and five directors of Beirut Pharmacy, who fraudulently obtained Ks. 199 million from NHIF through fictitious claims facilitated by the NHIF officials.
The Beirut Pharmacy matter is among several NHIF cases under investigation to inform the prosecution of any culpable persons and the recovery of lost public funds.
