Homa Bay County is once again in the spotlight after fresh claims of violence, intimidation, and fraud linked to the ongoing fake jobs scandal.
Journalist Habil Onyango, who reported that he was assaulted and abducted after publishing a story that touched on the scandal.
Habil said he was lured to a hotel in town by someone he trusted, only to be confronted by Beatrice Akugo, a senior human resource officer at the county.
He alleged that Akugo and her accomplices attacked him, took away his phone and laptop, and even forced an apology onto his Facebook page.
“I was abducted, tortured and they posted an apology on my Facebook page. They wanted me to write another story but the people who read the apology got concerned and started looking for me,” he explained.
Akugo admitted to slapping the journalist but denied abduction. She claimed she was angered by a report that linked her to the fake employment scandal and that some people who were with her wanted to escalate the violence, but she restrained them. She further confirmed that Homa Bay Public Service Commissioner Awuonda Oreta called her to question why she had allegedly abducted the journalist.
She insisted she had given Habil the phone to speak directly to him, but her friends grew furious after Habil called police saying he was abducted.
Journalists in the county have since condemned the attack, holding a peaceful protest to demand the arrest of the suspects. Led by Erick Odek, they accused Akugo and her team of nearly killing their colleague and called for justice.
“We are heading to the police station to demand the arrest of the four suspects. These suspects nearly killed Habil, we demand justice for journalist,” Odek said.
The backdrop of this assault ties to a wider crisis in Homa Bay, where dozens of young people have fallen victim to fake job offers. Victims like Jemima Anyango from Oyugis lost large sums of money after being issued fraudulent letters purporting to offer her a county job.
Investigations revealed that some officials, including county staff like Reginal Owaka and Akugo, were allegedly involved in orchestrating these scams.
Top county officials, including County Secretary Professor Bernard Muok and Chief Officer Dr. Kevin Osuri, disowned the letters and confirmed they were fake.
They urged residents not to fall for such schemes but to rely on official channels of recruitment. Following the revelations, the county has halted salaries of over 100 employees suspected of irregular recruitment.
The Directorate of Criminal Investigations has taken up the matter, with pressure mounting on the county government to clean up its systems.
Meanwhile, Akugo admitted she knew Owaka and others involved in the scams but argued it was not her responsibility to report them.
Her own confession of assault against Habil now raises serious questions about how far county insiders are willing to go to protect themselves from exposure.
This incident has left many in Homa Bay wondering whether justice will truly be served, or if those implicated will continue to hide behind power as innocent citizens and journalists bear the cost of exposing corruption.
