The Civil Society has condemned the attack on institutions charged fighting corruption by a section of political leaders, saying that the war on corruption should not be piliticised.
In a statement, the Civil Society Reference Group (CSRG) said that attacks directed at the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) could sabotage the fight against corruption.
“Allegations of corruption surrounding the two dams (Arror and Kimwarer) are not the first claim of corruption in which the DCI has been involved in investigating. There are many other cases in which suspects have been arraigned in court that have had active involvement and collaboration of the DCI that did not attract the kind of attack and accusations being leveled against the DCI,” read the statement in part.
The body says that a section of political leaders who now find themselves on the receiving end had literally captured some of the investigative agencies of government, and rendered them incapable of doing the kind of record-time investigations that the DCI has been able to do on recent allegations of corruption.
“Those attacking the DCI are nostalgic about days gone by when the EACC Deputy CEO Michael Mubea used to stage-manage early morning raids and conduct dramatized arrests that were merely designed to hoodwink the public that there was a fight against corruption,” adds the statement.
They allege that some EACC officers had become gate keepers for use by corrupt individuals to forestall investigation into their corrupt practices.
A section of Jubilee politicians allied to Deputy President William Ruto have been accusing the DCI of targeting them in the fight against corruption, in a bid to stifle Ruto’s 2022 presidential bid.
Speaking in Kericho on Sunday, Ruto claimed the director of criminal investigations George Kinoti had been sucked into a political scheme aimed at derailing the projects.
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“The fight against corruption must proceed on the basis of correct information and by competent institutions that have the constitutional mandate and institutional capacity so that we can have results,” said Ruto.
“We will refuse and reject any attempt by people to put together a political narrative using corruption and propaganda to drive a scheme to undermine Government programmes and projects, with the aim of destroying the Big Four agenda.”
Kipkelion West MP Hillary Koskei said the DCI did not have the professional capacity to fight ‘complex matters’ while Kericho Senator Aaron Cheruiyot argued that investigating economic crimes was beyond Kinoti’s capacity.
“The constitutionally mandated body to fight corruption is EACC. The work of DCI is to investigate other crimes,” said Mr Cheruiyot.
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