The Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) chairman David Oginde Thursday called for a bold stand against corruption, urging citizens to outrightly reject corrupt individuals.
Speaking on July 11, during the African Union Anti-corruption Day in Nairobi, Oginde said: “It is time that we said no to men and women who are committed to corruption, we should ensure they have no place in our institutions at any level.”
“We appreciate the voices of concern, but they mean nothing without personal action,” he said.
He urged the members of the public to come forward and report to relevant authorities for action to be taken.
He said, “The fight against corruption especially in relation to the whistleblower role in the fight against corruption is something that all of us should stand up for.”
Oginde however acknowledged despite there being a law in the witness protection act, it is not adequate to give people the confidence to come forward.
He said effective whistleblower protection depends on the strength and independence of institutions responsible for investigating and prosecuting cases of corruption and misconduct
Oginde said the lack of a robust legal framework in whistle blowing is adversely affected by a trust deficit in public institutions with some heads of ministries, departments and agencies within governments attempting to obstruct or frustrate whistleblowing,”
The chairman assured the member of the public that the commission will handle information brought forward cautiously.
“We as the public should not be afraid to come forward to report to relevant authorities so that action is taken. As a commission we will assure you of discretion on handling the information,’’ he said.
He accused some heads of public institutions of undermining reforms aimed at enhancing accountability in public affairs and inadequate support by appointing individuals who are under investigations into public offices.
“A case where we have files that we have investigated and certified ourselves that he has a case to answer, forwarded the file to the Director of Public Prosecution, they go ahead to give that person a job while there are still many Kenyans who could have done the job,“ stated Oginde.
Oginde said the fight against corruption is being politicized, “slowing down progress and eroding confidence”.
He further condemned high-profile suspects who are using court orders to delay and derail ongoing law.
“The quest to stop investigations, arrest and prosecution on high profile suspects is another obstacle, it is a trend by them to use court orders to delay us from judicial processes,’’ he stated.
The EACC boss stated that so far four pieces of legislation have been proposed in parliament designed to weaken the work of the commission in fighting corruption.
This is in relation to the conflict of interest bill which is currently in the National Assembly and amendment of the Anti-corruption and Economic Crime Act to decriminalize procurement offences which accounts for over 90% of corruption cases in the country.
Oginde said, “They are engaging with both the national assembly and the senate so that the conflict of interest bill can still have the original objective of controlling matters of procurement tendering within government so that public resources are not lost to people who are supplying to government”.
The Conflict of Interest Bill 2023 seeks to maintain public trust in public institutions and reduce the risk of corruption, favoritism and bias, thereby upholding integrity of public service.
It also seeks to ensure trust between citizens and public institutions.
If the bill is passed into law, there will be better coordination between conflict of interest management and broader anti-corruption initiatives, maximizing the effectiveness.
The bill is also intended to deal with issues of conflict of interest within all public agencies, so that a person who is working within government should not at the same time trade with government.
However, despite being entrusted with ensuring public interest and empowered to enact the bill into law, the Senate along with the national assembly, has drawn criticism for either deleting or watering down its stringent clauses.
The Senate had faced scrutiny from the EACC for making radical amendments that would permit state officers to bid for government tenders.
Oginde said the EACC, DPP and judiciary need to work together for an effective fight against corruption.
“Our call is that all of us should work in concert to ensure that the cases brought forward are dealt with and justice is done,’’ Oginde said.
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