The Director of Public Prosecutions intends to recover Sh72 billion from 283 ongoing cases across the country, DPP Noordin Haji has said.
Documents tabled before the National Assembly’s Justice and Legal Affairs Committee show that county government employees top the list of individuals who the DPP wants to be surcharged for the money stolen from the public.
The DPP’s records say the culpable officials are 73 CEOs, 40 directors and other senior officials, 13 senators and MPs, nine Cabinet Secretaries and Principal Secretaries, five sitting governors and their deputies and nine other government cadres.
“Despite the fact that counties just came to be in 2010, they account for the bulk of corruption cases,” Haji told the committee chaired by Baringo North MP William Cheptumo.
He at the same time expressed frustration that governors under investigations over the looting of public resources continue to be in office, hence interfering with the evidence and witnesses.
“One of the challenges is state officials who still remain in office even after being charged. Mostly they interfere with cases and victimise witnesses. We have instances where they sacked individuals they suspect to have provided information,” Haji said.
Also in the 283 cases are the Sh19 billion Imperial Bank and Sh6 billion Anglo-Leasing cases.
Haji also told MPs that his department has concluded cases involving Sh10,023,621,621. The cases are part of the Sh82 billion worth of cases registered in various courts.
EACC boss Twalib Mbarak and chairman Eliud Wabukala said the commission has investigated and submitted 889 cases since 2014. Some 640 were recommended for prosecution. The DPP only accepted 487.
During the same period, the EACC recommended to the DPP to approve the closure of 175 files and the chief prosecutor agreed with the commission on only nine files which were approved for closure.
The anti-graft agency is investigating 1,568 cases at the headquarters and in its regional offices across the country.
“In the last five years, the commission has recovered assets worth Sh6 billion. During the same period, the commisison instituted several cases for recovery of unexplained and corruptly acquired assets in various courts throughout the country,” Mbarak said.
