Graft war has greatly intensified in Kenya scaring all the corrupt individuals in the country as the criminals are being exposed daily.However some powerful Kenyans feel that the corruption body is infected amidst this serious war.
Members of the National Assembly yesterday vowed to carry out a performance audit of the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) to determine whether the institution adds value to the fight against corruption.
The MPs accused the institution of being the stumbling block in the anti-graft fight. They claimed the agency had failed to carry out its duties including nailing corrupt individuals as it has been taken captive by cartels who were colluding with officials at the institution to block investigations.
Speaking during a debate where Twalib Mbarak’s nomination as the secretary and chief executive nominee for EACC was approved, the legislators claimed both the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions and Directorate of Criminal Investigations have performed better in the fight against corruption than EACC.
Leader of Majority Aden Duale and his minority counterpart John Mbadi, MPs William Cheptumon (Baringo North), Junet Mohammed (Minority whip) Chris Wamalwa (Kiminini), Martha Wangari (Gilgil), Otiende Amollo (Rarieda) and Godfrey Osotsi (Nominated)told EACC to put its house in order and ensure it takes part in the fight against corruption.
Duale said there is need for parliament to set aside time to debate and scrutinise from the commission to determine whether the commission is serving the purpose it was established to execute. Do you believe that the EACC is corrupt?
On the other hand, Chief Justice David Maraga blamed the office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) for the delays experienced in prosecution of graft cases in the country.
Mr Maraga said that the cases have been dragging on for long because of the DPP’s failure to present courts with key documents on time.
The CJ explained that often cases start when the DPP has not obtained all the required documents, leading to adjournments to give his team more time.
“When starting a case there are times when DPP [Noordin Haji] has not got all the documents but we have talked to him and told him to come to court with documents to guard against unnecessary adjournments. They are working on it,” said Mr Maraga.