Kimilili Constituency Member of Parliament Didmus Barasa has accused his political nemesis for his latest woes with Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC).
Barasa in a video shared via his official X account on Monday, August 26, 2024, says he has been a target of his political enemies after he declared his interest for Bungoma gubernatorial seat in 2027.
Didmus Barasa blames opponents
However, the controversial lawmaker says he is ready for anything, and that no amount of malice and propaganda will detract him.
“Tayari nimetangaza kwamba mwaka wa 2027 nitakuwa nawaomba watu wa Bungoma wakuwe washirika wangu mimi nikiwaongoza kama gavana yao Mungu akipenda. Ukikuwa MCA utakuwa uko na maadui wachache wale ambao hawakupendi katika tu ile geographic ya ward level.
“Ukiwa mjumbe unakuwa na maadui from every ward that is within your constituency. So kwa vile nimetangaza kwamba nataka kuwa gavana wa Bungoma 2027, najua sasa niko na maadui from every constituency, sasa wameongezeka..so nimejua, na nimejipanga,” Barasa stated in the video extracted from a press conference he addressed at his Kimilili home on Sunday, August 25, 2024.
Didmus Barasa on EACC radar
Barasa’s sentiments come hours after EACC started pursuing him for ignoring summons.
The anti-graft agency had summoned the lawmaker after he was reported by a businesswoman who accuses him of defrauding her of Ksh2 million.
Barasa had been summoned on August 14, 2024, and now risks being arrested and prosecuted for ignoring the summons.
The woman is said to have met Barasa at a hotel in Nairobi, where the lawmaker promised her of tenders after informing the businesswoman that he was the chairperson of the Parliamentary Roads Committee.
He is said to have told the woman that he would help her secure tenders worth millions from Kenya Rural Roads Authority (KeRRA) and asked for Ksh2 million as a commitment fee for their partnership.
Barasa offered some roads in his constituency, which he is said to have informed the businesswoman that they were some of the projects she would start with.
However, KeRRA is said to have dismissed the said projects as non-existent when the businesswoman went to their offices to inquire after Barasa went mute on her.
Barasa responds to fraud claims
However, Barasa while responding to the claims said that he ignored the EACC summons because the case does not fall under their jurisdiction.
The lawmaker argues that the money was transferred to his account as a soft loan, and that he will not pay because the businesswoman had previously borrowed Ksh4 million from him when she ran for a gubernatorial seat.
“This money was advanced to me as a soft loan. When it came to payment, I told this lady that you remember you borrowed Ksh4 million from me when you were running for a gubernatorial seat in this country. That is the disagreement that made me not to pay that soft loan,” Barasa stated in an interview with one of the local TV stations.
EACC on Barasa ignoring summons
However, the anti-graft agency has maintained that Barasa must appear before it to answer to the accusations facing him.
EACC says it is vested with appropriate enforcement powers and mechanisms to compel the attendance of an uncooperative suspect who is required to appear before it.
“EACC is vested with appropriate enforcement powers and mechanisms to compel the attendance of an uncooperative suspect who is required to appear before it. No suspect can purport to choose or pretend to enjoy the discretion of whether or not to honour summons by investigative agencies,” EACC said in a statement issued on Monday, August 26, 2024.
