Wycliffe Opraranya, the Cabinet Secretary (CS) nominee for Co-operatives and Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME) Development, has stated that he has never been invited to write any statement in the Ksh. 1.3 billion graft scandal he has been linked to.

According to Oparanya, he is not privy to any ongoing probe against him and he has never been grilled to elucidate on the case by any authorities.

"Nobody has come to take a statement from me. As I sit here I also don't know what I am being accused for because I am also seeing it in the papers," he told the Committee on Appointments on Sunday.

Oparanya argued that the probe has been one-sided and he has never been allowed to narrate his side of the story.

"In August 2023 I was very active in demonstrations. I was called by someone and was told that the EACC was looking for me and I asked that person what being in demonstrations has to do with EACC," he said.

In his defence, he noted that he has led with integrity over the 10 years he has served as Kakamega Governor and has never embezzled public funds.

"I have served diligently for 10 years. We have had audit reports and there is none that pointed me as being a corrupt person," he noted.

In the case, the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) is probing Oparanya alongside his spouses in the alleged embezzlement of Ksh.1.3 billion which occurred during his two-term tenure as Kakamega Governor.

Investigations indicate that public funds were unlawfully acquired through proxies and associates during Oparanya’s tenure.

It has been reported that a portion of the frozen funds was channeled by two companies, Sesela Resources Limited and Sabema International Limited, contracted by the County Government of Kakamega to purchase a house in Karen, Nairobi.