The Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) has vowed to utilise its enforcement powers to ensure that Kimilili Member of Parliament Didmus Barasa complies with recent summons.
This move comes amid escalating tensions between the commission and the outspoken legislator, who has openly defied the EACC’s call to appear for questioning.
The EACC, in a press statement released yesterday, emphasised its statutory capability to enforce compliance from uncooperative suspects.
“EACC is vested with appropriate enforcement powers and mechanisms to compel the attendance of an uncooperative suspect who is required to appear before it,” the statement read.
“No suspect can purport to choose or pretend to enjoy the discretion of whether or not to honour summons by investigative agencies.”
This statement follows a public refusal by MP Didmus Barasa to honour the summons related to a financial investigation involving a significant sum of money reportedly transferred to his bank account.
Barasa, in his response to the summons, dismissed the EACC’s jurisdiction over the matter, labelling it a civil issue and stating his intention to resolve the dispute in civil court instead.
“Let the lady go to the civil court and I will meet her there. For your summons, I will not come. I will not show up,” Barasa declared defiantly.
Barasa further argued that the commission was overstepping its mandate by delving into what he described as a personal financial matter.
“I replied to your officer and indicated not to honour the said summons because the commission cannot be reduced into a debt collection agency,” he added.
He also provided some context to the transaction, claiming it was a soft loan from a fellow politician.
“I would like to bring to your attention that the deposit of Ksh2,000,000 to my bank account was a soft loan from the said politician who unsuccessfully ran for governor in a county in Kenya on 13th December 2023,” Barasa explained.
He stressed that any contractual disputes arising from this transaction were his private concern and not within the EACC’s scope.
Source: kENYANS.CO.KE