Activists blame rampant graft on lenient fines handed to suspects

Samuel Kimeu Executive Director Transparency International Kenya PHOTO.FIDELIS KABUNYI

Anti-corruption activists have warned that “unduly lenient” sentences for corruption suspects are hampering efforts to fight the vice.

Transparency International Kenya executive director Samuel Kimeu and National Civil Society Congress President Morris Odhiambo said the war on graft risks being lost in the absence of stern deterrent measures. “The rate of convictions for corruption suspects is nearly zero. Even the few cases that have been decided, the full implication of the law has not been applied. We are not having enough prosecutions and convictions,” said Mr Kimeu.

They said “soft justice” could encourage theft of public resources. “There should be a minimum prescribed sentence to remove the discretion from the judge in the event, perhaps they are corrupted,” said Mr Odhiambo.

They said suspects continue engaging in corruption because punishment is not guaranteed. “You have to take away the incentive for corruption. The incentive is the money they have stolen. Besides committing people to jail you should recover fully what they have stolen. If I can go to prison for two years and keep my Sh2 billion there is no deterrence for me not to engage in corruption,” said Kimeu.

Individuals convicted for engaging in graft for about 118 cases dating between 2002 and 2015 show most of them were fined between Sh5,000 and Sh60,000. This is a slap on the wrist compared to the theft of money involved. According the Anti-Corruption and Economics Crimes Act 2003, a person convicted shall be liable to a fine not exceeding Sh1 million or imprisonment for a term not exceeding ten years, or both.