The Conflict of Interest Bill should have been passed in Parliament as early as yesterday. But still, it has come at the right time and I think the President has made a bold step towards fighting corruption and unethical practices in government.
Chapter Six of the Constitution requires state officers to declare their wealth and any conflict of interest that they might have and which might interfere with their work. Currently, we have wealth declaration forms which are filled after every two years by state officers.
However, these forms are never made public. What should happen now and should also be captured in the Bill, is that the contents of these forms should be made open for the public to help the government in monitoring the corrupt individuals and be our brothers’ keepers.
What the public will be waiting to see is whether there will be sufficient political will both at the level of the President and the lawmakers who for years have been the stumbling block in the war against and unethical practices like conflict of interest and corruption. We heard what the President said and I think he means well. But on the level of lawmakers, it will be interesting to see if they pass this Bill.
This Bill is definitely going to put Parliament on spotlight to see whether they are really with the President in this war against corruption and other unethical practices in public service. It is at that point [when the Bill is in Parliament] when the public will know whether they are with the government in this fight or not.
Both the Senate and the National Assembly have had members who have represented governors charged with corruption. Sometimes back, we saw honorable James Orengo representing Busia Governor Sospeter Ojaamong in court.
And this week, we saw Senators Kipchumba Murkomen (Elgeyo Marakwet) and Mutula Kilonzo Jr (Makueni) defending Nairobi Governor Mike Sonko in court. That definitely was a conflict of interest. If these Senators had their conscious and morals intact, even if the situation forced them, they should not have allowed themselves to be in court.
The National Civil Society Congress coordinator spoke to the Star.
