Former Sports Cabinet Secretary Rashid Echesa has been arrested in an investigation into claims of an extortion racket targeting Kakamega Governor Fernandez Barasa.
Echesa has been locked up at the Muthaiga police station after being picked up from his house on Thursday afternoon and is set to be charged on Tuesday.
According to his lawyer Danstan Omari, Echesa was being detained over claims of extortion and stage managed abduction.
“We have been allowed to see him. We understand they are investigating claims of extortion and abduction which we don’t know more about,” he said.
Echesa was on Thursday at about 4 pm picked from the cells and taken to Directorate of Criminal Investigations, Kiambu Road for grilling as Omari followed him there.
Police said he has been evading their dragnet in efforts to grill him for possible prosecution.
This came a week after a man police said was Echesa’s handler was Wednesday March 20 charged in a Kibera Court for extorting over Sh240 million from Barasa.
William Simiyu Matere alias Elijah appeared before Kibera Senior Prinicipal Magistrate Ann Mwangi where he was charged with two counts of demanding property with menace and conspiracy to commit a felony.
According to the prosecution, it is alleged that on diverse dates between December, 2023 and 18th day of March, 2024 at unknown place within the Republic of Kenya, jointly with others not before court, with menaces demanded a total sum of Sh240 million from Fernandez Odinga Barasa.
The other count states that on the same date he jointly with others not before court conspired together to commit a felony namely demanding property with menaces and extorted from Barasa over Sh240 million.
He denied the charges and was freed on a bond of Sh2 million with a surety of the same amount.
The prosecution intends to call four witnesses.
The matter was mentioned on 27 March for pre trial but did not proceed.
The drama broke with videos emerging online showing Echesa in handcuffs and in a thicket with ropes around his hands and legs.
President William Ruto appointed former Echesa to be the Chairperson of the Kenya Water Towers Agency Board.
According to a gazette notice dated May 19, 2023, Echesa will serve for a period of three (3) years, with effect from the 19th May 2023.
Echesa was appointed as Cabinet Minister in retired President Uhuru Kenyatta’s second term as Head of State until March 1, 2019, when he was fired in a Cabinet reshuffle.
His removal as Cabinet Secretary came under a wave of corruption allegations that had dogged the Sports docket.
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