Some Sh9.76 billion worth of assets acquired corruptly have been traced and recovered by the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission between 2005 to date, CEO Halakhe Waqo has said.
Of these, he said, Sh7.5 million was recovered in 2015-16.
“Many of these assets have been lost through the facilitation of public officers. From April 2016 to date, 21 cases were concluded in court resulting in 18 convictions,” Waqo said yesterday.
He spoke during a workshop on the implementation of Chapter Six of the Constitution and the Leadership and Integrity Act, 2012, at the Kenya School of Monetary Studies, Nairobi.
Chapter Six restricts state officers and public servants from keeping as personal property, gifts or donations received during public or official occasions or maintaining bank accounts outside Kenya except in accordance with an Act of Parliament.
Waqo said 56 of the 147 investigations into ethical violations initiated in the previous financial year have been concluded.
Many of the cases, he noted, range from failure to declare income, assets and liabilities; falsification of certificates; failure to declare conflict of interest; and absconding duty. Others are nepotism, misuse of public funds, sexual harassment, favouritism and dual citizenship.
Waqo said presentation of fake certificates and dual citizenship by state officers are gaining notoriety at the national and county governments.
“Many officers in counties and some at the national level legislative houses have two passports, yet some are in senior positions,” he said.
The EACC boss also said they have written to all counties concerning a trend where some governors are erecting their portraits on government projects’ notice boards, pointing out Kilifi and Mombasa counties as examples.
“When entering Mombasa you see boards on road projects with Governor [Hassan] Joho’s portrait. When you go to Kilifi you see [Governor Amason] Kingi with his projects. That turns into campaign material and it’s wrong,” Waqo said.
The CEO said other milestones the commission has achieved since the enactment of the Integrity Act include helping 41 out of 42 public entities in the national government to develop leadership and integrity codes.
The commission has faced various challenges in implementing Chapter Six, Waqo said. “I am, however, happy that we are working with the office of the Attorney General and the Department of Justice in pursuing necessary amendments to make the Act commensurate with the threshold of leadership and integrity,” he added.
In a statement, Attorney General Githu Muigai assured the EACC of his support and said his office has, under the Anti-Corruption Laws (Amendment) Bill, recommended that the commission becomes responsible for all state officers and be made the central depository for all wealth declarations.