If investigative agencies were serious, many governors would be behind bars. If agencies scrutinised just the Auditor General's reports, very few governors would survive. Perhaps only Makueni's Kivutha Kibwana. The rest could not pass.
There's a lot of waste and pilferage in counties. Detectives should focus on this waste. I believe, however, that some investigative agencies are compromised. The biggest problem is that the Anti-Corruption Commission has not been up to task. So the wheels of justice grind to a halt at the investigation level.
Currently we have a very active Director of Public Prosecutions. I cannot blame the Judiciary either. Kenyans wanted an anti-corruption and economic crimes division of the High Court and CJ David Maraga quickly established it.
Magistrates' courts were overwhelmed. So establishing the anti-corruption division of the High Court was a milestone in the anti-graft war. And we are seeing some small progress in adjudicating corruption cases. The only problem is the slow pace.
The biggest problem is investigations. But even the Directorate of Criminal Investigations is trying to shed its old negative image.The DCI has undertaken to investigate some high-profile cases. Already, there are clear results. Bigwigs are being made to face the law.
The EACC has been in existence for years but what has it achieved? What's its conviction rate? Cases either die at the prosecution or the adjudication level. In many instances, the DPP says that after examining investigation reports, the evidence does not warrant prosecution. Whom do you blame for a half-baked investigation report?
The EACC needs to pull up its socks. The executive already seems to favour the DCI in budgetary allocations. There are so many governors who need to be held to account for present and past sins. There are many accountability questions that need answers.
The agencies should go for the governors. The only person with immunity against prosecution is a sitting president. Governors are not immune and if any accountability questions arise, detectives needs to act.
Former Transparency International official spoke to the Star