Former Chief Justice David Maraga has torn into the government after it openly admitted that Kenya had indeed transferred money from the Electronic Travel Authorisation (eTA) programme into a Swiss account overseas.
In a strongly worded statement released on Tuesday morning, the former head of the Judiciary maintained that the government's actions were a gross violation of the Constitution and only added to the many historical scandals the country has yet to address.
Maraga maintained that the law stipulated that all money collected by the government as a result of service payments should be deposited into the Consolidated Fund account.
The former head of the Judiciary questioned why Parliament—a body entrusted with overseeing the use of public funds—was not involved in the government's pilot project.
He further demanded that the government come clean on the accounts' signatories and why the funds had to be deposited in an offshore account.
“In a line of many scandals in our history, most of which have never been subjected to the wheels of justice, this is yet another flagrant violation of the Constitution, which requires that all monies collected be deposited in the Consolidated Fund,” Maraga asserted.
“When did Parliament approve this pilot? Why offshore Swiss accounts with their record of obscurity? Who are the signatories? What evidence do we have that this is not yet another offshore account scam for personal gain? Have those funds now been transferred to the Consolidated Fund?” he questioned.
According to the jurist, Kenyans have continued to be undermined economically due to the lack of transparency in the manner in which the government handles its affairs.
“The lack of transparency and accountability in the way public resources are used is the main reason for the economic difficulties our country faces. The suffering is immediately felt by all, especially the ordinary Kenyan,” Maraga added.
“Kenya needs a reset of values, vision and uncompromising rule of law. We must now be fearless in removing political leadership and cartels who do immeasurable and unacceptable harm to Kenyans.”
On Monday, April 14, Government Spokesperson Isaac Mwaura clarified that the Swiss transactions were part of a piloting phase of the ETA programme as part of the government's plans to improve strategic partnerships with the Swiss firm.
“There was a piloting phase for the ETA programme, which was a collaboration between the Kenyan government and a Swiss company,” the government spokesperson clarified, adding that the piloting phase was done.
