The passage of the Ethics and Anti-corruption Bill by parliament was about getting rid of the current Kenya Anti-Corruption Commission director and not in the spirit of fighting corruption, civil society groups have said.
“Debate on the Bill was not objective bearing in mind that some of the MPs have pending and ongoing investigations before the anti-corruption agency,” said Mr. Ken Wafula of the National Council of NGOs.
Parliament, on Thursday evening, passed the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Bill which, among others, will strip the director, Prof. Patrick Lumumba, and his deputies of their jobs immediately the Bill is enacted.
“This is not about PLO (Lumumba), but about the integrity of the anti-corruption commission and the fight against corruption,” said Gladwell Otieno of the Africa Centre for Open Governance.
According to Ms Otieno, there is an artificial rush being created by parliament, which leads to passing of bills that are against the spirit of the constitution. She called for care to be exercised and proper priorities set in the passage of crucial bills.
The civil society groups have however called for the development of a strong anti-corruption agency but they argue that the transition period has to be handled carefully. They proposed that the Bill should be amended to provide that the director and his deputies to serve in their positions until new officers are appointed.
“Transiting staff of the KACC to the EACC without the necessary technical heads will hinder the administrative execution of the commission’s mandate,” Mr. Wafula argued.
Speaking to the Nation on phone, KACC Advisory Board member Billow Kerow said that said that the removal of the director and subjecting other members of staff to vetting will demoralize them and adversely affect the performance of the commission.
Mr. Kerow is also opposed the amendment that would deny the commission powers to prosecute corruption suspects if the Director of Public Prosecutions fails to do so. He views it as move against the United Nations Chatter on creation of anti graft agencies and warned that it will adversely affect the effectiveness of the commission.
Mr. Kerow questioned the wisdom of having a panel comprised of mainly civil servants to recruit commissioners, saying that it will undermine the independence of the commission. If the Bill is assented to, the president is expected to appoint a panel of nine people within two weeks who will recruit a new commission.
As a solution, both Mr. Kerow and the civil society groups, separately, urged the president not to assent to the Bill but give more time for further considerations.
A press statement signed by seven civil societies read in part: “We are appealing to His Excellency the President to save our country by referring this Bill back to parliament for further consideration of the glaring governance issues emerging in the Bill.”
If the president goes ahead and signs the bill into law, Mr. Kerow said it will be challenged in court while Ken Wafula said they will call for mass action.
Meanwhile, opposition continues to mount against the reinstatement of Moses Wetangula and his Permanent Secretary Thuita Mwangi back to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Transparency international Kenya Executive Director Samuel Kimeu said the reappointments were unprocedural and undermined the role of law enforcement agencies. He termed the president’s move as inappropriate, coming at a time when the country is in the process of laying down proper mechanisms to assist in the fight against corruption.
"The two (Wetangula and Thuita) had not been fully cleared as there were investigations still going on in Japan, therefore their reappointment is against the law," Mr. Kimeu said.
Mr. Kimeu was speaking to the Roaming Reporter in Nairobi yesterday, on the sidelines of a forum organised by civil society groups to commemorate the first anniversary since the promulgation of the new constitution.
Former Mandera Central legislature Billow Kerow termed the recalling of the two as a show of the governments continued show of lack of commitment to the fight against corruption.
Wetangula and Thuita stepped down last October after a probe by the parliamentary defense and foreign affairs committee implicated them in irregular acquisitions of Kenyan missions abroad.
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