In Haiti, corruption and impunity are the rule, and personalities who revolve around the Presidential Council – applauded Thursday by Canada – are not above all suspicion.
Former Sports Cabinet Secretary Rashid Echesa has been arrested in connection with an investigation into alleged extortion racket targeting Kakamega Governor Fernandez Barasa.
Echesa has been detained at Muthaiga police station since Thursday afternoon, when he was apprehended at his home. He is due to be formally charged on Tuesday.
According to his legal representative, Danstan Omari, Echesa is detained on suspicion of extortion and orchestrating a staged kidnapping. Omari said: “We were allowed to meet him. We understand that authorities are investigating allegations of extortion and kidnapping, the details of which are still unknown to us. »
On Thursday, around 4 p.m., Echesa was transferred from the police cells to the Criminal Investigation Department on Kiambu Road for questioning, with Omari accompanying him.
Authorities said Echesa actively avoided their attempts to question him as part of their ongoing investigation into possible criminal charges.
These developments follow the recent arrest of an individual identified by police as Echesa’s accomplice. The suspect, William Simiyu Matere, also known as Elijah, was arraigned before a Kibera court on March 20, accused of extorting over Sh240 million from Governor Barasa.
Matere was charged with two offenses: extortion of property by threat and conspiracy to commit an offence. The prosecution alleges that between December 2023 and March 18, 2024, Matere, accompanied by unidentified accomplices, coerced Governor Barasa into handing over Sh240 million. Matere pleaded not guilty and was released on Sh2 million bail, with a similar sum required as security.
The prosecution has indicated its intention to present four witnesses in the case.
Although the case was scheduled for pretrial proceedings on March 27, it did not take place as planned.
The ongoing events have attracted public attention with the release of videos online showing Echesa in handcuffs, allegedly restrained in a wooded area with ropes tying his hands and legs.
Earlier, Echesa was appointed by President William Ruto as the Board Chairman of the Kenya Water Towers Agency, according to a Gazette notice dated May 19, 2023. His tenure was to last three years from from May 19, 2023.
Echesa had previously served as a Cabinet Minister during President Uhuru Kenyatta’s second term, until his dismissal on March 1, 2019, in a cabinet reshuffle prompted by allegations of corruption in the Sports Ministry.
