Kenya is set to lose hundreds of millions if several cases against former governors are dropped following amendments to the Conflict of Interest Bill.
According to the Ethics And Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC), if the National Assembly passes the Conflict of Interest Bill as amended by the Senate, the cases lodged against the former governors and their families on the premise of Conflict of Interest may collapse.
An assessment of the amended bill reveals that the Senate proposed the removal of the EACC as the enforcing body of the proposed conflict of interest law and vested the responsibility on public entities and accounting officers to investigate the violations themselves.
In light of this development, cases being prosecuted by the EACC are at stake.
The amendments as fronted by the Senate will also enable top state officials including Cabinet Secretaries, Principal Secretaries, Senators, MPs, Governors and others together with their spouses, children and siblings to trade with the Government, including the institutions headed by the officials, without facing any sanctions.
Another amendment made to the Bill which could potentially lead to the state losing millions in corruption cases is the deletion of a provision that could have required suspension of any state official facing corruption investigations until they are cleared.
Further, the Senate voted in favour of a clause that seeks to shield public officials from EACC scrutiny subjecting their wealth to the microscope and a provision requiring them to declare what they own.
The amendments will also make it hard for the anti-graft agency to detect and recover stolen public property
Currently, the law mandates that public officers are required to declare their wealth alongside that of their spouses, information which should subsequently be made available to the public.
Following the amendments, the EACC has raised concerns stating that the new Bill if passed, will shield public officials from accountability.
“If passed the Bill is shielding public officials from accountability for mismanagement of public resources,” stated the EACC.
Additionally, the EACC has continued to fault Narok Senator, Ledama Ole Kina, for advocating and pushing for the amendments arguing they have the potential to render the commission almost powerless in the fight against graft.
