DPP: We are prosecuting billions worth of shillings case

Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) Noordin Haji during their meeting with National Assembly Justice and Legal Affairs Committee on the investigations and Prosecutions of anti corruption and economic crimes at Parliament on Thursday June 27, 2019. [Boniface Okendo,Standard]

Corruption cases involving more than Sh72.6 billion are currently ongoing at various courts across the country, Director of Public Prosecution (DPP) Noordin Haji has said.

While appearing before the National Assembly’s Justice and Legal Affairs Committee chaired by William Cheptumo (Baringo North), Mr Haji said that since 2014, a total of 582 corruption and economic crime cases have been registered.

“There were 850 inquiry files received from EACC for review and direction by the DPP from January 2014 to March 2019. The DPP directed 58.2 per cent of files for prosecution to ensue, 18.3 per cent for closure, 8.5 per cent for administrative action and 13.6 per cent for further investigations,” said Haji.

This year alone, from January 1 to March 31, the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) recommended 65 advisory investigation files for prosecution.

Out of the 65, the DPP directed 35 of them to proceed to prosecution, 10 files for administrative action and 26 files recommended for closure.

The DPP, on further review of the files, however, directed that 26 of the cases submitted be subjected to further investigations, 16 for administrative action and 21 were accepted for closure.

Between April and June, the EACC forwarded 39 files to the office of the DPP.

Haji said there has been a rising trajectory of conviction rates from 2.1 per cent in 2014 to 17.6 in the first three months of 2019.

EACC Chief Executive Twalib Mubarak said that the commission cannot investigate and prosecute all corruption cases even for lower thresholds involving little amounts.

“It is our opinion that the law should be changed so that EACC should be given a threshold of Sh200 million and above to investigate,” said Mr Twalib.

Twalib also told the committee that in the past five years, the commission has recovered assets worth more than Sh6 billion.