About 700, 000 public servants are yet to declare their wealth and risk paying Sh1 million fine or serve a one-year jail term.
As a result, EACC has issued circulars to 118 commissions demanding they immediately submit the Declaration of Income, Assets, and Liabilities (DIAL) before the December 31 deadline.
An October report of the anti-graft agency said the officers might also face a salary stoppage, get show-cause letters, interdiction, and suspension.
Wabukala during a private meeting a few weeks ago in Mombasa when he opened a two-day workshop for newly appointed County Public Service Board members, warned that the agency will receive returns next month on how many officers failed to declare their wealth for enforcement.
All public officers are to declare their wealth as 2019 is a declaration year where all public officials are required to submit their biennial declarations together with those of their spouse/s and children under the age of 18 years.
The meeting was strictly attended by EACC and top county officials only.
The declarations will help EACC nail down officers who have massively accumulated wealth.
The officers will be required to explain their sources of wealth or risk losing to the State after three appellate judges ruled that illegally acquired property belongs to the government.
“The declarations will be managed and enforced by the various commissions designated or contemplated under the Public Officer Ethics Act,” Wabukala said.
Justices Philip Waki, Gatembu Kairy and Otieno Odek in a case against a former National Water Conservation and Pipeline Corporation (NWCPC) boss Stanley Amuti, argued that the Constitution does not extend the protection right to property that has been unlawfully acquired.
Wabukala emphasised the importance of financial disclosures by public officials in the fight against corruption and to promote ethics and integrity in the public service.
The public ethics act says that those who fail to submit a declaration or clarification are guilty of a one-year jail term or one million fine.
The report said that only 11 National Government, 19 County Public Service boards and 17 County Assembly Service Boards have submitted their returns constituting 39.8 per cent of the total Commissions.
This includes 87, 000 public servants from independent Commissions (41, 0410), County boards (42,062) and County Assembly Boards (3,875).
“The declarations are meant to detect and prevent corrupt practices, evaluate potential conflicts of interest, promote transparency and accountability and increase public confidence in government,” Wabukala said.
The act allows EACC to store declarations, verify content, investigate breaches, take administrative sanctions, and develop and implement administrative procedures.
Other roles are to monitor compliance and seek clarification where possible.
Out of 118, only six commissions, which include the National Police Service Commission, Independent Policing Oversight Authority, Commission on Revenue Allocation, Office of Attorney General and Department of Justice and Judicial Service Commission, have tendered their submissions.
The Central Bank of Kenya, National Land Commission, Kenya National Commission on Human Rights, Office of Auditor General, Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission, Commission on Revenue Allocation and Commission for University Education have partially complied.
“Two out of 19 County Public Service Boards (Migori and Homabay) submitted returns indicating that all their state and public officers submitted while 17 Responsible Commissions registered partial compliance,” EACC said.
The 118 commissions are expected to briefly keep custody of declarations, verifying the content of the declaration, investigating breaches and taking administrative sanctions on breaches before December 13.
Among those commissions who have failed to submit include Commission on Administration Justice, Public Service Commission, Parliamentary Service Commission, Salaries and Remuneration Commission, National Gender and Equality Commission and the Office of the Controller of Budget, which represents thousands of government employees.
Others are Defence Council, Ulinzi House, National Intelligence Service, Registrar of Political Parties, Teachers Service Commission, Kenya National Audit Office Ethics Commission for Co-operative Societies and EACC.
