EACC accuses politicians of impeding fight against graft

Ethics and Anti-corruption Commission (EACC) Chairperson David Oginde has accused politicians of impeding the fight against corruption in the country.

Oginde has said a section of MPs have been taking steps that have been seen as an attempt to dilute the effects of the anti-graft fight.

One such attempt, he said, is a proposed amendment seeking to remove procurement breaches from legal redress and place them under administrative action.

Another seeks to exempt any person convicted of corruption to be free to serve in a public office.

Oginde said political parties and certain communities gang up against law enforcement agencies when a corruption suspect is arrested or questioned.

“The impression given is that we don’t believe that the fight against graft is a matter of life and death. When we observe how some of us respond towards the fight against graft, it leaves an impression that we are merely playing games and graft is not a serious matter.” 

Graft, Oginde opined, is the single most dangerous calamity the country has ever faced and precipitates a high cost of living and inequitable distribution of opportunities and resources.

"It also leads to poor infrastructure, undermines the realization of national development goals and increases poverty," he added.

He noted that there is a need to make the country a hostile environment for graft suspects and that this would require a multi-sectorial approach.

Oginde who was speaking during the International Anti-corruption Day celebrations at Murang’a University of Technology called on Stakeholders to unite in curbing corrupt and unethical conduct, and for various arms of governments and other stakeholders to assist in the endeavor.

He called for a review of some laws to ensure those convicted of graft are locked out of public offices.

"The various roles of legal enforcement agencies will also need to be streamlined through legal reforms and amendments in Parliament to make clear their roles as sometimes there is confusion that provides loopholes for corrupt individuals to walk free," he said.

He said critical institutions involved in the fight against graft need to be capacitated through the provision of adequate personnel and financial resources.

Appropriate legal provisions, he observed, should be made, for EACC to be able to prosecute its cases as is done in Zambia where the commission investigates cases and prosecutes them.

“Kenya can be the first nation in Africa to eradicate graft. We must refocus our vision on building a corruption-free Kenya because it’s the right thing to do,” he said.

EACC CEO Twalib Mbarak said graft has engulfed most public places including churches and mosques.

“Kenya is one of the countries where police officers take bribes openly. In lands offices, officers slow down processes to ask for bribes,” he said.

Mbarak asked politicians to address the issue of fake academic certificates that he said risk tainting the image of local education standards internationally and force Kenyans to take exams before being admitted to external universities.

He said the process of fighting graft relies on political culture, public participation and building institutions’ capacity to fight graft.

Murang’a governor Irungu Kang’ata said his administration is in the process of installing digital systems in all 157 systems health facilities in a bid to curb graft.

Kang’ata said all his flagship programmes are transparent and target the poor and vulnerable, with all tenders publicly announced.

EACC had pitched camp in the county for the last three weeks conducting corruption risk assessment and presenting an action plan that will help both the executive and the assembly to seal graft loopholes.