War on corruption may be lost after MPs passed EACC Bill

By Billow Kerrow

One year into the new dispensation, the war on corruption is surely being lost. And we may be seeing the clearest sign yet that the Executive and Parliament pay only lip service to this war, and care less if it is lost. This is particularly so when they feel threatened and exposed as they were in recent months.

The absolute lack of commitment couldn’t be more explicit than in this week when a new bill seeking to establish the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission was debated. The political leaders are on board so long as it is not them or any of their friends or kinsmen who are being probed.

The verbal tirade of insults and censure directed at Kenya Anti-Corruption Commission (KACC) and its directors during the debate on the Bill reflects the broader fear in Government of an institution that is increasingly becoming predatory on their ilk. Public leadership calls for integrity but their actions fly in the face of ethical conduct demanded in Chapter Six of the Constitution.

If the Bill is enacted, Parliament will have shut down KACC for all practical purposes. The entire management comprising the director and his four assistant directors must leave office immediately. The advisory board will follow suit 90 days later.

All remaining staff will reapply for their jobs and will be subject to vetting by a new team of commissioners yet to be appointed. With the uncertainty and apprehension surrounding their retention, most will be disillusioned and demotivated by the insecurity of their jobs. That would mean total disruption of all the on-going investigations and court cases. Perhaps more worrying is the distressing and oppressive environment created by this precedent; if you grill the big fish and hound them out of office, you become the target of their fury.

Staff may be inclined to go for the small fish rather than ruffle feathers and get kicked in the teeth. And will KACC attract serious men and women of integrity in future?

The Bill replaces the current panel of stakeholders who appoint the nine commissioners; the professional bodies such as LSK, Icpak, FKE, Cotu, Apsea and Fida are replaced by government nominees from Office of the President, Prime Minister’s office, Ministry of Justice and Constitutional Affairs, among others.

This arrangement undermines the independence and impartiality of the commissioners who will be loyal to their appointees. Three of these commissioners will be part of the full time management of KACC, alongside the secretary to be recruited by them, who shall be the chief executive officer (CEO).

It is ironical that the commissioners who appoint the CEO will be answerable to him, a recipe for conflict and turf wars.

After arrogating themselves the powers of firing the management of the weakened commission, the MPs denied it powers to prosecute.

Earlier, the Cabinet reduced its mandate by denying it powers to carry out lifestyle audits to pursue unexplained wealth. Similarly, additional provisions relating to integrity and ethical behaviour in leadership illustrated in Chapter Six were dismissed. Conceptually, the Bill falls far short of expectations, and legally ultra vires the Constitution in relation to transitional provisions.

Leaders from ODM who came to power on pretentious anti-corruption crusade exposed their hypocrisy in the House to protect their own. Reports indicate that PNU’s proposal to fire the KACC management and reappoint the Foreign Affairs Minister and his PS was warmly endorsed by the PM’s brigade before the reshuffle. Hence, the vitriolic outburst of his foot soldiers in the House debate.

The people have been short-changed; the Constitution sought to entrench and strengthen KACC, not emasculate it! Corruption czars have won big time. And the prejudiced Commission will be engaged in a zero sum game. Without success in the war on corruption, the fruits of the new dispensation may never be harvested any time soon!

-The writer is a former MP for Mandera Central and political economist