The anti-graft agency estimates that beleaguered Migori governor Okoth Obado’s rural home is worth more than Sh100 million.

The Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission says in court papers that the palatial home is a symbol of the vast amount of wealth the second-term county chief has amassed.

"The investigation team has also verified that the governor Migori county, Zacharia Okoth Obado, has a newly built palatial home estimated to be worth more than Sh100 million located at Uriri," EACC told the High Court.

The anti-graft detectives claim Obado has accumulated vast wealth beyond his legitimate sources of income.

Just last month, 11 senior officers from Migori were charged with flouting procurement rules and purchasing Sh20 million furniture for the governor’s house. It is unclear whether the furniture was meant for his Uriri home or for his official residence.

On Saturday and Tuesday, the Star exclusively reported how Obado and his associates registered about 30 companies and used them to pocket Sh2.5 billion in “fictitious contracts”, according to EACC sleuths.

The Eliud Wabukhala-led agency said their preliminary probe had established that Obado and his wife, Hellen Odie, hold numerous bank accounts.

The suspect’s accounts are at National Bank, Diamond Trust Bank, Equity Bank and Cooperative Bank. Hellen’s account at Equity Bank has Sh784,451. They are some of the accounts the EACC has frozen.

The EACC says Mbingo Enterprises, one of the dubious firms owned by Obado’s accomplices, built the Uriri home. Puzzling to the detectives was lack of evidence indicating that the governor paid the contractor.

Mbingo director Ernest Omondi was paid more than Sh700 million in questionable contracts by the county. Another of Obado’s alleged proxy, Jared Peter Odoyo Oluoch Kwaga, pocketed Sh1.6 million.

The EACC says they have taken all the suspects to task to explain the source of their massive wealth.

“The commission has issued notices under Section 26 of ACECA to the respondents and others believed to be to part of the scheme to explain the sources of the monies held in the above mentioned bank accounts and listed parcels,” it said.