After serving for six years as the Chairman of the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC), Retired Archbishop Eliud Wabukala revealed that at first, he was hesitant to take up the job.
Wabukala who took up the reigns of the anti-graft body in January 2017 stated that when he put his name for nomination, everybody close to him was negative including his family and Christians around the country.
“I was hesitant at first and basically I did not know that I had to take up this job, but as it stood out at the time someone had to do it,” he stated in an interview with NTV.
“I consulted a few people and everybody was negative. They did not want me there,
My family, Christians around and outside the country advised that it was not possible,” he added.
Wabukala however disclosed that it was after soul searching and lots of prayers that got him to take up the job.
“There were a lot of prayers and a lot of soul-searching. It was not easy,
At that time things were not easy as today. Nobody wanted to be associated with the EACC,
It took a lot of prayers and prayer partners like Bishop Gitonga who prayed and encouraged me to go,” he stated.
He further disclosed that his tenure then as Archbishop and Committee Chairman of The National Anti-Corruption Steering Committee gave him an opportunity to see the magnitude of corruption.
“I was attracted to the job because of my tenure as Archbishop and Chairman of an Anti-Corruption Committee. I thus understood how to handle corruption through the ethics part,” he remarked.
At the Integrity Centre, Wabukala took the bipartisan approach to fight corruption by advocating for the fight not to be left entirely to the commission but for Cabinet secretaries, principal secretaries, Executive officers, governors and accounting officers to take responsibility for what happens in their respective dockets.
EACC CEO Twalib Mbarak lauded Wabukala's work observing that he left behind a legacy of a stable, professional and reliable anti-corruption agency.
"On behalf of the commissioners, Executive management and staff at EACC, I thank the outgoing chairperson for the focused and steady leadership that he has provided to the commission in the last six years," Mbarak noted in a statement.
Wabukala's tenure came to an end on Tuesday, January 17, with opinion divided on his legacy and achievements.
