New twists at EACC don't bode well for war on graft

NAIROBI: A new twist to the saga of the suspended commissioners of the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission casts doubt on the war on corruption.

The revelation that Chief Executive Officer Halakhe Waqo might not be the right person to forward files to the Director of Public Prosecutions will no doubt pour cold water on what many believed was the final blow on the canker of corruption.

A statement issued by State House spokesman Manoah Esipisu last week confirmed that President Uhuru Kenyatta had suspended Mumo Matemu and Irene Keino from carrying out their duties as commissioners of the anti-graft body.

Commission for the Implementation of the Constitution (CIC) chairman Charles Nyachae has written to the Attorney General alerting him on a constitutional provision that stipulates only the commissioners of the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission could move corruption probe files to the office of the Director of Public Prosecutions for action. The secretariat, which many had been led to believe could carry out the work of the suspended commissioners, can only execute the decisions made by the commissioners.

Consequently, the fate of the 175 cases which were being investigated by the EACC lies in the balance, pending the outcome of a tribunal appointed by Mr Kenyatta to investigate Mr Matemu and Ms Keino. Whereas there was little that the president could do to stop a process initiated in Parliament, media reports of meetings in State House to seal the fate of the commissioners presupposes that Mr Kenyatta was in the know.

Thus begging the question; did he act on sound advise? To many, it would help if the duo remained in office to see off the 175 cases rather than giving ammunition to those fingered to fight the process rather than the damning allegations of corruption. At a time that Mr Kenyatta was being perceived as having finally confronted the monster of corruption, small sideshows emerged, putting serious doubt on his government’s commitment to fight sleaze and plunder in high places.

Since assuming the office of the presidency, Mr Kenyatta has made decisions that have turned the spotlight on the calibre of advisers around him. In fact, at one point last year, his deputy, William Ruto, admitted Mr Kenyatta was misled on some of the appointments he had made. He said hard questions would be asked of those who (mis)advised the president. In the wake of the bungled trip to the US, it might be worth repeating those words again.

Then, Mr Kenyatta had just appointed John Mututho to chair Nacada, the anti-drugs body and had to rescind this decision. He also overturned the appointment of Abduba Dida to chair the Constituency Development Fund. Mr Mututho was later reappointed to the office after Parliament vetted him.

Early this month, he seemed to ignore a court order that stopped the 2014 recruits from joining police colleges. He wriggled himself out of an obviously embarrassing situation. All these are giving the Government a bad name. On corruption, the feeling in many quarters is that the war has slackened, and the release and suspension of top government officials a sham aimed at hoodwinking the public into believing the Government was fighting the vice.

The fact that previous chairmen of the anti-graft body, Harun Mwau, Aaron Ringera and Patrick Lumumba were hounded out of office does not help matters. It will do the country immense good if Mr Kenyatta came out candidly to reassure the public the war was still on course.