Three governors, PSs to be charged over corruption

Three sitting governors will next week face charges regarding procurement irregularities and abuse of office, according to the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission.

The commission’s chief executive, Mr Halakhe Wako, said on Wednesday the three will be joined by a former governor who lost his seat in last year’s General Election.

He told Senate’s Justice and Legal Affairs Committee that another 20 governors are under investigations for corruption involving millions of shillings through illegal procurement processes and abuse of office, adding that they have been investigating the officials for several months. 10 other governors serving their first term are also under investigations for corruption.

Mr Waqo said they have concluded investigations on two Principal Secretaries, two Members of Parliament and directors of parastatals and that their files have been forwarded to the Director of Public Prosecutions.

WATERTIGHT CASE

Mr Waqo, who was with commission chairman Eliud Wabukala, declined to reveal the identities of the governors and the principal secretaries, saying it would be prejudicial.

“Until we produce them in court, we can’t reveal their identities but I can promise you that we have a watertight case,” Mr Waqo said.

“You will soon see governors in court. We are focused on counties this time because we have received a lot of complaints from members of the public over corruption at that level,” said Mr Wabukala.

Mr Waqo defended the commission against accusations of laxity and lethargy and instead blamed the judiciary for failing to speed up corruption cases.

Although the government’s war on graft has mainly been focused on the national level, tenderpreneurs have trained their guns on counties to make millions of shillings illegally.

MISUSE OF MONEY

In his 2016 report, Auditor-General Edward Ouko questioned the use of Sh20 billion by the Nairobi County, exposing the chaotic running of the devolved units, theft and misuse of taxpayers money.

Nairobi county had also failed to bank Sh69.5 million it earned in revenue while the city’s assembly could not account for Sh207 million used in the purchase of goods and services.

Mr Ouko, also in his report, found out that Baringo County paid Sh20,000 for a wooden meat chopping board and Sh54,000 for a pot-stacking rack. The audit also raised questions on the construction of a cafeteria in the county assembly at a cost of Sh17 million.

ADEQUATELY FUNDED

Makueni Senator Mutula Kilonzo Jnr accused the anti-corruption commission of performing dismally in the fight against corruption despite being adequately funded.

“Tell us why we should continue to have faith in you yet there is no big fish that you have nailed. You have been going for the small fish and petty offenders yet the real culprits are out there; this is why the public no longer has confidence in you,” he said.

Busia Senator Amos Wako accused the commission of hyping up the war on corruption only to lose momentum.

“There have been investigations of high-profile people at the counties; the commission goes there in a big way, they make headlines and then the public waits for the person to be arraigned in court but nothing comes forth,” he said.