The Senate is planning to summon the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) to explain why it arrests governors, but the cases take too long to conclude.
The County Public Accounts Committee (CPAC) lamented that EACC's investigations into cases against governors, most of which involved allegations of corruption, are taking unnecessarily too long. Some of them end up collapsing even after consuming public resources, the lawmakers said.
This emerged after Marsabit Governor, Mohamed Ali, on Monday, June 9, appeared before the team and could not explain why he was arrested more than one year ago.
The governor said EACC did not explain the reasons for his arrest in March 2024, and kept on saying they are still investigating the county chief.
EACC raided the Marsabit County headquarters and arrested the governor on allegations of corruption. However, this matter is yet to be concluded to date.
The governor revealed he had neither been arraigned nor told the reason why I was arrested that day. He further claimed that the office raid was unfair, unprocedural and out of tune with the best practices.
CPAC members faulted EACC for what it termed its inaction, accusing it of undermining the job of the team as a watchdog committee.
Homa Bay Senator Moses Kajwang, who chairs the committee, sought to know from the governor why he was arrested and the status of the investigations, wondering how long it will take to conclude the investigations, warning that the Commission had politicised the war on corruption.
“We ask because our credibility as a committee is being threatened by a lack of action from the EACC,” Senator Kajwang stated.
“They announce arrests for optics, and we would like the EACC to tame its appetite for shouting,” he added, noting that it should only focus on cases that it can win.
Other committee members, including Senators Edwin Sifuna (Nairobi), Enock Wambua (Kitui) and Okongo Omogeni (Nyamira), also raised similar concerns over how long it takes for EACC to investigate matters.
Ultimately, the committee resorted to inviting the commission's leadership to appear to explain the challenges they are facing, which appear to undermine investigations.
“After more than one year, it is only fair that the EACC settles this matter and lets the world know whether the Governor is corrupt,” said Senator Kajwang.
Besides Governor Ali, other governors who have been arrested in the recent past are Kiambu's Kimani Wamatangi and Trans Nzoia's George Natembeya.
