Society reads insincerity in Uhuru order on lifestyle audit

National Civil Society Congress President Morris Odhiambo

The National Civil Society Congress (NCSC) wants a law enacted to make it mandatory for all Government officials to undergo lifestyle audits.

Describing the recent directive by President Uhuru Kenyatta to have all Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) staff audited as merely 'reactionary', NCSC demanded that Uhuru sack all leaders involved in corruption cases without reservations.

They claimed the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) had mortgaged its independence to the Executive by reporting corruption findings to Cabinet secretaries under probe instead of MPs as mandated by law.

"Uhuru's directive is just but another sterile gesture not meant to achieve anything. In his regime, what we have is no longer corruption but looting of public funds. Basically we have reached the apex of our perfected corrupt ways," NCSC President Morris Odhiambo said.

Legal framework

Mr Odhiambo said lack of a legal framework to administer lifestyle audits makes the declaration nonsensical.

"A competent anti-corruption agency should be constituted to avail the audited results to the public," he said.

Odhiambo accused Non-Governmental Organisations Co-ordination Board Chairman Fazul Mohammed of being a Government mouth piece to muzzle the independence of organisations that provide oversight.

Mr Mohammed had given 957 organizations 14 days to show how they spent Sh25 billion or be de-registered.

"The board is not even recognised constitutionally because the Devolution ministry has not gazetted the members. This is a matter of a small dog using the slightest opportunity to bark for no reason at all," said Steven Cheboi, an NGO board member.