EACC 'under pressure to leave building'

Integrity Centre which houses EACC offices in Nairobi.

The Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission is under pressure to leave its headquarters at Integrity Centre in Nairobi.

The commission's Chief Executive Officer Halakhe Waqo made the revelation when he appeared before the Justice and Legal Affairs Committee to defend the anti-graft body's Sh2.6 billion budget for the next financial year.

Mr Waqo called on the committee to back the Sh300 million budget for a new office block in the 2015/16 financial year to avoid unnecessary disruption of its operations.

"We have been told to vacate the building," said Waqo, saying he had met the landlord "but the status had not changed".

The House team, however, appeared pre-occupied with the image crisis at the commission.

"You have an image problem and you have to tell us whether the budget addresses your image rebuilding targeted and if it will improve the security of documents," said Priscilla Nyokabi (Nyeri), who chaired the meeting.

Florence Kajuju (Meru) said EACC had to try to change the perception that it was being run with influence from a powerful cabal of brokers.

The committee proposed amendments to the law that created EACC to deal with the persistent wrangles that led to some of its commissioners being sent packing. The committee is currently mulling having part-time commissioners to run the EACC.

Waqo said EACC targets to trace assets worth Sh6 billion as well as sensitise eight million people on graft in the next financial year.