At vetting, Mbarak promises independent, graft-free EACC

Twalib Mbarak, the Security and Integrity Manager at the Kenya Electricity Generating Company (KenGen), during his vetting at the National Assembly for the position EACC chief executive officer, December 14, 2018. PHOTO | JEFF ANGOTE | NATION MEDIA GROUP

What you need to know:

  • CEO nominee Twalib Mbarak terms the EACC a wobbling institution but says there is hope for restoration of sanity.
  • Declaring that he was fully aware of what awaited him, the nominee promised to lead his team from the front and be fair to all citizens.
  • He said he will not take orders from any influential people, including politicians, in the fight for justice and a corrupt-free organisations.
  • Regarding the low rate of convictions, he noted that this is not limited to corruption cases as it cuts across the entire spectrum of the justice system.

Mr Twalib Mbarak has delivered a stinging appraisal of the status of corruption in the country, with a stern warning for the lords of graft to change their ways or be ready for the consequences in strict compliance of the law.

Mr Mbarak, who has been nominated to fill the position of the chief executive officer of the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC), declared it an institutional that is “wobbling”. He added that it will take time to infuse sanity and that this will only be through the support of all.

"RHINO SKIN"

Declaring that he was fully aware of what awaited him, should he be confirmed for the job, the nominee promised to lead his team from the front and be fair to all citizens.

“I have the skin of a rhino because I started taking risks at an early age. I know exactly what I am getting myself into. I have no fear because at my age. Fear is finally running down,” the 53-year-old said when the National Assembly Committee on Justice and Legal affairs vetted him on Friday.

“Nobody will scare me and I will not take orders to subvert justice from any quarter. The Constitution provides that the EACC is only answerable to Parliament, no other authority,” he said even as he pitched for multi-agency strategies to end the vice.

“Should I be confirmed, everything will start with me. I will be an example to my team. I will lead from the front because as a CEO. If I wobble, the institution will wobble and everything will go wrong.”

GRAFT WAR

Mr Mbarak, who is the Security and Integrity Manager at the Kenya Electricity Generating Company (KenGen), further said rampant corruption is threatening national security.

As such, he declared that he will take his appointment with new zeal, which will take the anti-graft war a notch higher.

“I know there will be setbacks. I know the honeymoon will be short-lived but it is said that when baboons are destroying crops on the farm, just kill the biggest baboon and the rest will run away," he said, hinting at the possibility of going for what he described as high value targets in the corruption chain.

“There had been fear of the so-called powerful people until the Directorate of Criminal Investigations called their bluff. The DCI has a man in charge who has shown the country that no one is above the law. He doesn’t fear arresting people. If I am confirmed I will borrow the leaf.”

PRIORITIES

Among the issues the nominee said he will prioritise were an institutional audit of the EACC to determine the human placement,.

He said he will take a fresh look at pending files to establish why they have not been forwarded to the directorate of public prosecutions, the corporate image of the EACC and the vetting of all staff to establish their integrity and suitability for their jobs.

“The EACC is on the receiving end. There are lots of reservations on this image and there is need for that to be reinvented," he said.

Mr Mbarak faulted the EACC Act especially regarding the investigation of every case reported to it.

It is time for a fresh look at the law so as to limit the kind and level of crimes the commission can handle as one of the ways of making it efficient, he said.

“We need to amend the law to classify the kind of cases that can be handled by the EACC. The commission has just about 100 investigators but all manner of cases are taken to it. This has stretched its capacity.”

BIG QUESTIONS

Members of the committee questioned the nominee on how he will resist external pressure and insulate himself and the institution from political interference.

While noting that such interference has been the commission’s portrait, chairman William Cheptumo (Baringo North) asked Mr Mbarak to explain how he will respond to powerful and influential individuals.

Mr Cheptumo further asked for the nominee's thoughts on why the rate of conviction is low yet the commission has presented many files to the DPP. He also pointed out that agencies keep blaming each other.

Bureti MP Japheth Mutai also demanded the nominee’s view on suggestions by civil society groups for the institution to be scrapped and its mandate limited to dealing with ethical and related issues.

Kandara MP Alice Wahome said public confidence in the commission has waned in recent times and challenged the nominee to explore strategies that will rekindle the fire and ensure service delivery.

Mr Mbarak said the low rate of convictions is not limited to corruption cases but cuts across the entire spectrum of the justice system.

The nominee is worth Sh152 million, arising from a beachfront house he owns in Kilifi, which he was given by the government, another house in South C which he bought at Sh3.7 million through a loan and five acres of land he bought in 1989 at Sh90,000. The values of all the properties have appreciated over time. He and his wife do not run any businesses.