Peter Munya criticises EACC officers for 'lack of decorum' in graft probe
Council of Governors chairman and Meru Governor Peter Munya on August 15, 2015. Governors and their deputies have been put on the spot for ignoring public participation in budget making process. PHOTO | PHOEBE OKALL | NATION MEDIA GROUP
What you need to know:
- Mr Munya criticised EACC sleuths, saying they were subjecting suspects and their families to embarrassment while investigating graft claims.
- He reprimanded EACC and police officers who last week stormed the office of Busia Governor Sospeter Ojaamong and his homes in Busia and Nairobi to investigate fraud claims.
- Mr Ojaamong denied any involvement in fraud, adding that the raid was politically motivated.
The Council of Governors (CoG) chairman Peter Munya has protested against what he termed as lack of decorum by Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission officers.
Mr Munya criticised the EACC sleuths, saying they were subjecting suspects and their families to embarrassment while investigating graft claims.
He said the anti-corruption officials had not been observing the privacy rights of those people they suspected to be involved in economic crimes.
He reprimanded EACC and police officers who last week stormed the office of Busia Governor Sospeter Ojaamong and his homes in Busia and Nairobi to investigate fraud claims.
“Let them respect the privacy of the citizens when implementing the law whether they have a court order or not. If you want to do a search in anybody’s house, do it in a civil manner.
“Do not embarrass or harass them as they are the ones who have given you the mandate to run your affairs,” Mr Munya said on Sunday.
During the raid, the officers seized computers and documents from the office of the governor and the finance and procurement departments.
MORE THAN AN HOUR
The investigators, who were escorted by six armed police officers, arrived in two vans and headed straight to the finance office, which they ransacked for documents for more than an hour.
They later carried away two computers and some documents.
However, Mr Ojaamong denied any involvement in fraud, adding that the raid was politically motivated.
Mr Munya has also been a victim of EACC raids when anti-corruption officers from Nyeri stormed the county headquarters and took various documents in March last year.
The governor, who was at the time facing an election petition at the Supreme Court, said the EACC's actions were not procedural and were only aimed at stalling his county’s operations.
In July, Mr Munya cautioned politicians against using the EACC to target their enemies.
The county boss said political interference has made it difficult for the EACC to fight corruption as "it has lost independence to carry out its mandate".
