Governors fault EACC raid on Mwangi wa Iria’s home

Murang'a Governor Mwangi Wa Iria speaking to the press at his home in Koorali estate in Gatanga. He accused EACC who visited his home of harassing and assulting him and his family during their search of some documents..PHOTO BY KAMAU MAICHUHIE.

Tables are turning on the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) following simultaneous dawn raids on Murang’a Governor Mwangi wa Iria’s homes and his associates this week.

Leaders condemned the manner in which the raids were conducted and questioned EACC’s commitment to the rule of law and tenets of professionalism.

The Council of Governors  (CoG) chaired by Meru Governor Peter Munya suspect the commission is being sucked into political squabbles pitting governors against their competitors.

“It has clearly been sucked into Murang’a politics. There is no question about it. As a lawyer, I can tell you those raids were carried out without an iota of procedure or professionalism. It’s a new low for the commission,” Mr Munya told the Standard on Sunday.

He said there was no justification to conduct the raids at night and the search warrant did not disclose the alleged crimes for the basis of the same. The EACC officers did not take an inventory of the things they took away from the houses.

Mr Munya said the Council of Governors hopes the new EACC commissioners will “restore sanity” at Integrity House which he claims has been invaded by interest groups.

The governor said the commission cannot rally Kenyans to support their anti-graft efforts when it resorts to “thuggish acts” as the one witnessed in Murang’a.

“Nobody is opposed to raids. The point is they must be conducted in a decent manner that respects citizens and the law. You do not resort to thuggish acts and expect to get away with it. If he is raided by actual thugs how will he tell them apart if both of you come at night?” Munya quipped.

EACC Chief executive Harakhe Waqo and spokeman Yasin Amaro could not be reached for comment.

But National Assembly Majority Leader Aden Duale defended EACC action and called on the Director of Public Prosecution to charge Mr Iria with obstruction of justice.

“Can you imagine what will happen if we all start hiring goons to stop investigations against us? This is not a banana republic. There is no provision in law that states officers must investigate during the day. It a matter of their discretion,” Mr Duale said.

He nevertheless said EACC, in its rank and file, and alongside other independent commissions and offices must remain independent in their operations.

Duale added that they must resist the influence of the political class, Parliament, Executive and other forces.

Murang’a governor said the search of his house by EACC officers was unnecessarily rough.

He claimed that the officers ransacked the school bags of his children and dismantled his daughters food can as they opened it. Iria’s  mobile phones were also confiscated.

“As this happened a parallel search was being conducted in my rural home in Mugoiri Ward where my fairly old parents live. It was also improper for a male officer to frisk my wife and mother, fairness dictates that a female officer should have done it,” he said.

The Governor said his elder brothers in Kahuro also had their cellphones confiscated. He claimed the search warrant had discrepancies that pointed to an ill motivated operation. The search warrant had the letter head of Milimani Law Courts while the stamp was for Makadara Law Courts, he claimed.

“The warrant did not bear my official names nor indicate the reasons informing it since I do not have an active judicial engagement with EACC,” he told The Standard on Sunday.