Former sports Cabinet Secretary Rashid Echesa was Thursday arrested in a probe into claims of extortion racket targeting Kakamega Governor Fernandez Barasa
Echesa was picked up from his house in Nairobi on Thursday and locked up in cells at Muthaiga over the saga.
Officials said he will take plea on Tuesday, April 2.
Efforts were being made to release him on cash bail.
His lawyer Danstan Omari said his client had been detained over claims of extortion and stage-managed abduction.
He was picked from the cells and taken to the 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 Mature alias Elijah appeared before Kibera Senior Principal 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 the 18th day of March 2024 at an unknown place within the Republic of Kenya, jointly with others not before the 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 the court conspired together to commit a felony namely demanding property with menaces and extorting 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.
Police say this was all stage-managed.
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 three (3) years, with effect from the 19th of 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.
