The National Integrity Alliance (NIA) has demanded the urgent passage of the Whistleblower Protection Bill to provide legal protection to whistleblowers who expose graft and other malpractices in government, while condemning rising attacks on journalists.
Through a statement released on Thursday, September 25, NIA noted that delays in passage of the Bill continue to expose potential whistleblowers to an unconducive environment, leading to silence, continuous graft and mismanagement while eroding public trust.
Composed of various human rights groups such as the Kenya Human Rights Commission (KHRC), NIA argued that without a strong legal framework protecting whistleblowers and journalists, they would be left to navigate harassment and litigation on their own, even when they act in the interest of the public.
The Bill is a proposed legislation that seeks to protect whistleblowers who disclose information regarding improper conduct in both private and public institutions. It aims to offer protection from victimisation to those who make disclosures, ensure confidentiality, legal immunity, rewards, and to embed internal systems within organisations for receiving disclosures.
The Bill also has the Whistleblower Reward Fund, where whistleblowers get rewarded for their role in uncovering a scheme or illegally acquired wealth. In the Fund, whistleblowers are to get 10 per cent of the cash or the value of the asset.
At the same time, NIA condemned the weaponisation of the Judiciary against whistleblowers and journalists exposing graft and malpractices in the form of lawsuits.
It cited lawsuits against journalists and whistleblowers, describing them as a hindrance, not only in the fight against other forms of government wrongdoings, but specifically the fight against graft.
“We believe that these legal proceedings against whistleblowers and journalists are not filed with the intention of winning on merit, but to intimidate, silence, and burden critics with the cost of a legal defense until they abandon their cause,” NIA noted.
As such, NIA demanded concrete action in the Judiciary to create mechanisms to identify and dismiss what they described as frivolous and malicious lawsuits against the whistleblowers and protect them from any form of retaliation.
NIA also urged media players to condemn the weaponisation of the Judicial system and protect journalists who face retaliation along their line of duty while exposing corrupt acts.
Aside from weaponisation in the Judiciary, NIA also raised alarm over regulatory complaints, employment disciplinary action, and civil claims.
They challenged the Public Service Commission to establish and or issue guidelines to public entities on the provision of strong internal reporting mechanisms and frameworks critical for safeguarding staff members who come forward with honest reports of wrongdoing.
Another demand was that the government condemn the intimidation of whistleblowers who expose graft, particularly from public institutions, and offer the necessary support and protection to avert retaliation.
Their demands come amid a rise in attacks through litigation targeting journalists. Currently, the case of Collins Kweyu, a journalist at The Standard Group, grabbed headlines, where he was allegedly arrested over pursuing a story linking a Homa Bay-based judge to a Ksh10 million bribe claim.
However, the case got a new twist, with Kweyu turning into a state witness in the case. Even so, cases of whistleblowers have still made headlines, with Nelson Amenya, the whistleblower who exposed the JKIA-Adani deal, gaining global attention.
