EACC hunting down public officers with Sh25.5 billion unexplained wealth

The anti-corruption agency is pursuing Sh25.5 billion worth of unexplained wealth from public officers.

Meanwhile, the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission on Tuesday said it has already recovered assets worth Sh25 billion.

In collaboration with the DPP, the EACC secured convictions in 169 cases out of 275 corruption cases finalised in various courts.

Examples of high-impact cases involved nine former and current governors, Principal Secretaries, senators, MPs, and managing directors of state corporations among others.

Some of the cases involving allegations of illegal and unexplained wealth against former governors Ferdinand Waititu, Mike Sonko, Evans Kidero, and current Samburu Governor Moses Kassaine. The total amount in the cases is Sh11.5 billion.

Sirisia MP John Waluke was convicted for fraudulent acquisition of approximately $3 million.

The suspects in the case were convicted to 67 years imprisonment or a fine of $10 million each.

EACC also cited corruption offenses and pending court cases involving nine former/current governors from Tharaka Nithi, Nairobi, Kiambu, Garissa, Samburu, Busia, Migori and Nyandarua. These cases are worth Sh1.2 billion.

Other cases pending review by the DPP include the irregular award of tender for construction works for Malaba Water and Sanitation Project worth Sh680 million and the procurement irregularities worth Sh7 billion at Kemsa.

EACC chairperson Archbishop (Rtd.) Eliud Wabukala said in the past five years, EACC concluded investigations into 1,000 corruption-related cases.

In its status of the fight against corruption and the annual report for the year 2018-19 and 2019-20, the EACC said it disrupted the possible loss of public funds worth Sh30.4 billion.

The agency is conducting a five-day workshop on ethics and integrity for Corruption Prevention Committee Members and Integrity Assurance Officers from the SACCO Societies Regulatory Authority (Sasra).

The workshop which began today will end on Friday.

In its presentation to the Senate Standing Committee on Justice, Legal Affairs and Human Rights, the EACC says it investigated 47 complaints touching on cooperative societies between 2013-20 involving abuse of office, embezzlement, and misappropriations of funds, bribery, breach of trust, and tax evasion.