The sickening story of how two lovebirds operating as senior officers at the customs office of Lunga Lunga Border Control has left many in awe.
The lovebirds, who now live as a married couple, are Aquilino Aciita Mwithali, the Customs Station Manager at Lunga Lunga Border Post and his slaying wifenFlossy Wawira Monica who is the Head of Verification (Supervisor) at the same border post.
The two have successfully managed to turn the border post into a love and merry-making playground, akin to a theatre of the absurd where love thrives over work ethics.
This, coupled with unchecked corruption and blatant security risks that could put the lives of Kenyans at risk, has been perfected by the two, who brag of protection from authorities above them.
Mwithali moved to Lunga Lunga in December 2023, following the dangerous floods that swept and killed former Customs Manager Joram Maina.
Despite the absence of scanners, insiders say many goods (including contraband) are cleared to pass without being scanned in exchange for millions of shillings.
Back to Mwithali, his dalliance with corruption at the Lunga Lunga border post led him to meet Flossy Monica Wawira, a shrewd operator and a seductive woman with an uncontrolled love for dirty money.
As the supervisor at the station, she is the final authority on what comes in. She is the head of verification, releasing all goods entering and exiting Tanzania.
For starters, Flossy is not new to the corridors of graft and dark arts operations.
She was arrested in 2023 by a team from the Anti-Terror Unit in Nairobi on allegations that she was helping terror suspects sneak in drones from foreign countries to carry out terror-related activities.
She was taken to court and in a bizarre twist of events, was turned into a witness by the Anti-Terror Unit.
After her court ordeal, she was supposed to face serious disciplinary measures from her employer but she managed to manoeuvre her way back to work at Lunga Lunga, where together with Mwithali, they have taken their love affair to irretrievable levels.
According to our sources, the two have become a significant obstruction to other staff, as they often kiss and touch in the office so shamelessly, despite the fact that they are married and living together.
But how the government has allowed a reckless couple to run affairs in a serious border post like Lunga Lunga baffles many.
Apparently, there is no scanner at the border post, which means corruption is inevitably rampant. All corrupt dealings are conducted through misdeclaration of goods and services.
It is understood that corrupt traders meet with Flossy through proxies in advance. Apart from the money she has to collect on behalf of the big bosses, she makes around Ksh 150,000 per day.
Their destructive behaviour has been a problem at the border post and often creates a lot of unnecessary traffic.
The border post is clearly held hostage by a love triangle as the country loses millions in revenue collection.
It used to record good turnover in revenue collection before Mwithali took over, but today, it is hardly registering 60% of its target.
Mwithali’s main activities are intimidating junior workers, police officers attached to Lunga Lunga border, chewing khat, and maintaining a chain of women who do business in Tanzania and Kenya.
The border post has also been accused by traders of many authoritative demands not supported by law.
A fortnight ago, importers in Mombasa accused KRA officials in charge of cargo clearance and the profiling unit of applying their own punitive rules while clearing their cargo, even without seeking their opinion.
The top management was also accused of using junior inexperienced managers and officers to enforce unconstitutional rules on innocent traders, leading to losses in revenue in the billions.
At the same time, a parliamentary oversight committee has been urged to look into the matter and help effect changes at the border post.
