Nairobi County Chief Finance Officer Luke Gatimu and six other senior officers were Tuesday evening arrested over abuse of office claims in a probe launched by the Directorate of Criminal Investigation (DCI).
The officials were summoned to DCI headquarters where they were grilled for hours before they were locked up in cells ahead of their arraignment Wednesday.
Those detained will be presented to court where police intend to ask for more time as investigations into the claims go on.
Police say this was after up to Sh7 million was found with some cashiers last week by Governor Mike Sonko.
Sonko read the riot act to county officers after he found the Sh7 million in a drawer in the city county’s cash office last Wednesday.
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The governor made an impromptu visit a day after his Deputy Polycarp Igathe toured the office and raised his concerns over its operations. He later visited DCI headquarters and met DCI Ndegwa Muhoro where he asked him to send a team to investigate operations there.
It was then that a team of detectives was assembled and sent to City Hall to investigate the claims.
Sonko, who was acting after a tip-off, was accompanied by Mr Igathe and other county officers. He wondered why the money had not been banked yet it was collected the previous day.
On Tuesday, he directed the cashiers be suspended pending outcome of the probe.
When he stumbled on the money, he demanded an explanation on why all cheques collected on Tuesday had been banked but the cash was yet to be deposited in the bank, which is just 50 metres away.
“Under my watch, City Hall has ceased to be anyone’s cash cow,” Sonko declared as he stared at the money.
