The Lake Region Economic Bloc (LREB) has been thrown into chaos after a scandalous exposé claimed that its boss and his secretary-turned-lover pulled off a Sh40 million “romantic” heist right under the noses of 14 counties.
At the centre of the storm is CEO Victor Nyagaya and his executive secretary Sylvia Kiaye, who insiders allege are lovebirds with a taste for power and money.
A whistleblower claims the duo masterminded the transfer of Sh40 million from the bloc’s coffers straight into Nyagaya’s personal bank account in March this year.
The cash, which came from county contributions and interest accrued from deposits at Equity Bank, was meant to drive regional development. Instead, it is alleged to have been used to fund the couple’s private luxuries.
Broke Bloc, Paid Love
Shockingly, while the alleged lovebirds were fattening their accounts, the bloc itself has been running on empty.
Suppliers say they haven’t been paid in months and are threatening to auction off LREB assets. Staff, terrified of auctioneers storming the offices, have reportedly stopped showing up.
Even the bloc’s official website, launched with donor funding, has gone dark because LREB couldn’t pay the tech firm maintaining it. “This place can’t even buy A4 paper, yet millions are vanishing into private pockets,” one frustrated insider quipped.
Counties Duped?
The LREB was once touted as western Kenya’s ticket to economic freedom, pooling billions from counties like Kakamega and Vihiga for big projects, including a proposed regional development bank.
But with the scandal now out in the open, that dream looks like smoke and mirrors.
Instead, the bloc has been reduced to headlines about missing millions, empty offices, and a CEO-secretary romance that reads like a script for a corruption soap opera.
Calls for Blood
Pressure is mounting on county assemblies and anti-graft agencies to crack down on what some leaders are calling “the greatest betrayal of public trust by a regional bloc.”
For residents of western Kenya, the big question remains: was the Lake Region dream always a con or did lovebirds Nyagaya and Kiaye simply steal it away?
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