Governors yesterday demanded immunity from prosecution following the arrest and charging of their Busia counterpart Sospeter Ojaamong.
In a statement read by CoG chairman Josphat Nanok, they want to be given the same treatment as the President because they too are heads of governments.
The President cannot be prosecuted while in office.
“The best practice in jurisdictions that are devolved is that the heads of both levels of government have immunity on civil and criminal proceedings while they are in office,” Nanok said during a press conference at the CoG headquarters in Nairobi.
They protested Ojaamong’s arrest, despite the governor voluntarily presenting himself to the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission.
Nanok said it was “mischievous” to call the media and publicly arrest a governor to distract the public from the rot in other ministries, departments and agencies.
“Whereas the fight against corruption is inevitable, this fight cannot be politicised and it cannot be used selectively to target specific officers,” he told reporters.
The CoG said it is aware security agencies will target more governors in the coming weeks. The governors said if the arrests continue, they will disrupt activities at the counties.
The county chiefs asked Uhuru to respect their position in society and “stop using corruption to settle political scores”.
“The right to bail or bond must be respected and cannot be compromised at any cost. In this regard, the council stands with the governor,” the CoG said.
The governors urged the national government to respect the law in its war on corruption. “There are instances where governors have referred cases of graft to the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions and the EACC but no action has been taken,” they said.
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