EACC said it remained committed to combating corruption and promoting integrity in public service.The Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) has arrested a female teacher from a high school in Bungoma County over allegations of soliciting Sh300,000 from three unemployed teachers in exchange for securing them jobs at the Teachers Service Commission (TSC).
The commission said the suspect allegedly demanded Sh100,000 from each of the three jobseekers.
She had allegedly received Sh150,000 through mobile money as part of the suspected bribes.
The teacher was arrested on Monday, October 12, following preliminary investigations into complaints that she had claimed to have connections that could help her facilitate recruitment.
“The suspect purported to have connections within TSC and other government offices that would enable her to facilitate the recruitment,” EACC said in a statement.
Following her arrest, the suspect was processed at the commission’s Western Regional Office and booked at Bungoma police station pending the conclusion of investigations.
She could face charges of requesting and receiving a bribe, contrary to Section 6 as read with Section 18 of the Anti-Bribery Act, 2016.
The allegations emerge amid a government pledge to recruit an additional 20,000 teachers by December, bringing the number hired since September 2022 to 120,000.
The revised target is an increase from the earlier goal of recruiting 116,000 teachers by July 2027.
Speaking on October 5 at the Kasarani Gymnasium during World Teachers’ Day celebrations, President William Ruto said the TSC had also advertised 34,016 teacher promotion slots.
Ruto added that the government had doubled the annual teacher promotion budget to Sh2 billion to match demand.
Amid the euphoria generated by the planned mass teacher recruitment, the TSC has issued multiple warnings this year about fake teacher recruitment notices, advising teachers and jobseekers to rely strictly on its official website and social media platforms for accurate information.
The commission’s warnings come as jobseekers face the risk of losing money to individuals claiming to have influence over public sector recruitment.
EACC said it remained committed to combating corruption and promoting integrity in public service.
