Director of Public Prosecutions Noordin Haji is set to decide whether to arrest and prosecute two Governors, one former Governor and two sitting Principal Secretaries.
The DPP is also reviewing evidence to charge a sitting and a former MP for abuse of office and misappropriation of CDF funds, two commissioners of independent commissions, and directors of various government institutions.
EACC chairman Eliud Wabukala and CEO Halake Waqo yesterday told the Senate committee on Justice, Legal Affairs and Human Rights that they had recommended three sitting governors and one who served between 2013 and 2017 to be charged with abuse of office, economic crimes, and diversion of public resources.
“These are not the petty corruption files but they are all serious files which have been investigated over the last one or two years. Some of them have been suspended because of court orders but they were lifted. In the days to come more files will be forwarded to DPP which also carry similar weight,” Waqo told the committee sitting at Parliament.
The EACC boss declined to disclose their names saying it would jeopardize the process.
“We would not let you know the names because it will prejudice the matter. We can only tell you when we take them to court,” he said, adding that “the commission is monitoring 20 sitting governors.”
However, the Star was able to independently establish the targets of arrest
Speculation is rife with names of three governors facing arrest over alleged corrupt deals , those alleged to be dragged to Court are;
Sospeter Ojamoong – Busia
Cprian Awiti – Homa Bay
Immediate former Nandi or Bomet governor
PS Muraguri is also in the list following the Afya house scandal of 2016
among others
They include a governor from Western Kenya who is accused of corruptly acquiring property worth over Sh220 million and benefiting from a Sh91 million street lighting project.
He is also accused of misappropriating funds meant for the construction of Early Childhood Development (ECD) projects.
PROCUREMENT
The second governor from Nyanza is facing numerous charges. In one case, he is accused of buying cars worth Sh159 million when the tender committee approved only Sh89 million.
He is also accused of buying air tickets for his family members, relatives and politicians contrary to clear procurement procedures.
According to EACC, the county government paid business class tickets for the governor and his wife, his son, four daughters, nieces, nephews, cousins and MCAs on several occasions yet they were not employees of the county.
The governor is accused of paying air travel bills worth Sh885,000 for an MP from his county.
The county also spent Sh141 million in violation of procurement procedures, through single sourcing for services like insurance and internet services.
A former governor of a Rift Valley county is also facing arrest for among others awarding tenders without bids, in some cases without any retention bonds as provided in law for such contracts.
EACC says the governor sanctioned the purchase of eight Ford vehicles for county executives without following procurement procedures. He is further accused of fuelling county cars in a petrol station that did not have a supply contract with the county.
EACC further claims that there were no LPO’s, requisition, fuel registers, or detailed orders and delivery notes to monitor the fuel consumption by the county government.
See: Four arrested over Sh51m theft in Kilifi
One of the two principal secretaries is accused of flouting procurement rules in his previous station.
The PS was in the eye of a scandal last year and was moved to another key ministry when President Kenyatta reconstituted the government after elections.
The second PS is also serving his second term in the ministry that has also been rocked by corruption allegations. Senate is still investigating some of them.
The three commissioners of independent commissions are accused of using official cars to conduct personal business, faking mileage claims and failing to account for imprest given to them.
A former MP from the Coast is accused of misappropriating more than Sh2 million meant for the CDF. He is also facing a second count of abuse of office.
APPROVAL
The EACC chiefs told the Senate committee chaired by Nandi senator Cherargei Kiprotich that they will arrest those affected as soon as the DPP approves the charges.
Waqo told the committee that most of the allegations being investigated relate to procurement. He said since 2013, the commission has taken 342 cases to court out of which 34 have been concluded.
“We secured 30 convictions and four were acquitted,” he said.
In 2016/17, the commission says it traced assets worth Sh4.9 billion which were acquired illegally or were unexplained.
“The commission has enhanced financial investigations and recovery of assets acquired from corruption as a deterrence strategy. This is achieved through proactive disruptions and robust prosecution of recovery cases,” he said.
Waqo blamed the Judiciary for liberally issuing orders and injunctions in corruption cases involving high profile individuals, thus hampering EACC’s work.
He said the special anti-corruption magistrates are insufficient to deal expeditiously with cases of corruption and economic crimes.
“Courts have in some instances issued orders whose effect is to prohibit the investigative aspect or prosecution into corruption and economic crimes. Some of the orders issued in Constitutional petitions and judicial review applications have stalled other cases,” he told the committee.
He added: “There are only two judges appointed to the Anti-Corruption and Economic Crimes Division of the High Court. In addition, the judges and magistrates dealing with corruption cases are also allocated other cases as well. There are also frequent transfers in between the hearing of cases.”
SMALL FISH
Senators including Mutula Kilonzo Jr (Makueni) Amos Wako (Busia) and Mithika Linturi (Meru) sought to know why they appear to be “only targeting the small fish”.
Linturi early this year obtained court orders stopping investigations against him over his degree saga.
Mutula said Kenyans are frustrated with how EACC is dealing with corruption, hence the apathy.
“There is a feeling that the commission should be disbanded. You are not working; why should we have faith in you? Media is working much better than you. We have lost the war on corruption because of EACC and we are extremely frustrated and tired,” Mutula said.
Wabukala, however, defended the commission, saying it is working in synergy with other authorities in fighting corruption.
Waqo admitted that EACC had been sidelined in the investigation of the second National Youth Service scandal.
Source: star
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