EACC pledges to meet 60-day probe deadline

Ethics and Ant-Corruption CEO Halakhe Waqo

NAIROBI: The Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) is planning to issue a comprehensive statement on the progress of investigations as the 60-day deadline given by the President nears.

The commission has up to Monday to conclude investigations on 175 corruption files tabled in Parliament by President Uhuru Kenyatta.

Thursday, EACC Chief Executive Halakhe Waqo assured that the investigations against high-profile public officials were progressing well and said he would make a major announcement soon.

"We are on course towards the deadline. Nothing has slowed down and all I can assure you is that the deadline will be met," Mr Waqo said.

He spoke at a city hotel where he attended a breakfast meeting organised by Accountability Kenya.

The meeting was attended by members of the Executive Committee (ExCom) of Accountability Kenya (AK) and representatives of some key institutional members of Accountability Kenya, including the Kenya National Audit Office, Office of the Controller of Budget, EACC, Judiciary, National Assembly and the Institute of Certified Accountants of Kenya. Also in attendance were diplomats from the EU and the US.

AK Chairman Ababu Namwamba said Waqo had assured them and the diplomats, who are partners in the war against graft, that the resignation of the EACC commissioners had not hampered their work.

"We had a specific request to him to attend so as to answer that concern. He took the initiative to give assurance that operations within EACC are proceeding. The legal concerns and public concerns notwithstanding, at least, the CEO has given us that assurance," Ababu said.

According to Ababu, AK was willing to introduce an amendment in Parliament to give EACC prosecutorial powers should need arise.

President Kenyatta gave EACC a 60-day window within which individuals in its report be investigated over corruption claims levelled against them. A bulk of the files on the 175 cases remain in the hands of EACC.

A multi-agency task force comprising officers from the Directorate of Public Prosecutions, the Directorate of Criminal Investigations and EACC is handling the cases.

Among others, EACC is questioning 55 MPs belonging to two committees of the National Assembly.