Politicians in the way of fight against graft, report shows

The National Council on Administrative Justice report launched by Chief Justice Martha Koome shows that inadequate information sharing and a weak legislative framework hinder the fight against graft. [File, Standard].

Political interference is the biggest headache for criminal justice sector players while fighting corruption even as the Judiciary and the National Intelligence Service confront the vice.

A National Council on Administrative Justice (NCAJ) report, released on Wednesday, indicates that all stakeholders, including the judiciary, police, and the Ethics and Anti-corruption Commission (EACC), showed that politicians in power tend to meddle with graft cases.

At 18 per cent, according to the report launched by Chief Justice Martha Koome, political interference was the biggest challenge, followed by inadequate information sharing and a weak legislative framework.

Speaking during a Kadhi workshop in Naivasha, the CJ said the Judiciary had changed tactics and now involve NIS in identifying graft perpetrators and patterns. "The new approach will help us identify patterns, hotspots and individuals who may be involved in corrupt practices and to intervene early," she said.

The initial way of fighting graft in the Judiciary relied heavily on complaints filed before the Judicial Service Commission (JSC) and the office of the Judiciary Ombudsman. The CJ said the old model had its limitations.

The report also revealed that corruption was perceived most in the human resource services. Human resource services were at 13 per cent, while finance and accounts services were tied with investigations services at 12 per cent. At 11 per cent, court processes and procurement services sealed the areas most thought to be corrupt and at double digits.

"To effectively combat corruption and economic crimes, it is imperative for the justice sector to tackle both genuine and perceived corruption within its ranks,' the report adopted by all NCAJ players reads in part.

The report indicates that EACC had processed at least 5,255 reports on corruption during the 2023-2024 financial year. At the same time, DPP approved 26 files from the commission for prosecution while 16 were recommended for administrative action.