As the world marked the Anti-Corruption today, the irony is that Kenya was not left behind in celebrating the day even in the midst of more scandals than we can count.
The commemoration of the International Anti-Corruption Day 2018 was led by the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission at the Bomet Green Stadium. This year’s theme is ‘Winning the Fight against Corruption, A Sustainable Path to Africa’s Transformation’.
International Anti-Corruption Day is observed every year on 9 December since the passage of the United Nations Convention Against Corruption on 31 October 2003 to raise public awareness for anti-corruption.
A shocking revelation by the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission showed that the commission has saved taxpayers Ksh. 20 billion that could have been lost through graft in the last five years. EACC further disclosed that Ksh. 207 million was averted from corrupt activities between July and December this year.
Transparency International-Kenya Executive Director Samuel Kimeu noted that the country still has a “big challenge” in the war on graft grounds its global ranking remains wanting.
“The last corruption index ranking was 143 out of 180 countries, which is not a good score. It has not improved much because we haven’t had a sustained action against corruption,” Kimeu said.
He further noted that Kenya’s ranking would improve if only President Uhuru Kenyatta, the Director of Public Prosecutions Noordin Haji, Directorate of Criminal Investigations boss George Kinoti and the EACC do not relent in ongoing graft crackdown.
National Taxpayers Association also said that the country is not yet on the right track in the fight against corruption because the Parliament and the county assemblies have failed to curb misuse of billions of public funds by the state and counties.
“These two institutions tasked with oversight and monitoring spending of taxpayers’ money are not doing their work. The auditor general’s reports have also linked MPs and MCAs with misuse of public funds,” said the Association’s National Coordinator, Irene Otieno
“We have enough laws to fight graft but we need to strengthen these oversight institutions not to be used to rubber-stamp corruption in budget making and investigations,” she added.
The Director of Public Prosecution Noordin Haji was also praised for his commitment to the fight against corruption in Kenya.
“There is a renewed vibrancy in prosecutions. Many people have been charged in court and more are being charged. This is an important aspect in the fight against corruption although convictions are more important,” Kimeu said.
He further backed up Haji’s decision to bring in Queen’s Counsel Qureshi Khawar as the lead prosecutor in the case against Deputy Chief Justice Philomena Mwilu saying that graft should be fought in whichever way.
“We use international experts almost in all our projects including roads and the railway. Why not allow external prosecutors to help us achieve better rule of law if they are going to take us to that path?” Kimeu asked.