Fate of EACC Bill passed on July 9 still unknown

The speaker of National Assembly Justine Muturi makes a keynote address during a breakfast meeting with Senior Editors 09/06/15 [PHOTO/MOSES OMUSULA/STANDARD]

Mystery surrounds the fate of a controversial bill to amend the law establishing the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC), three weeks after it was passed by the National Assembly.

Amid claims by some MPs that there is a plot by the Government to frustrate the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (Amendment) Bill, it is still not clear if it has been forwarded to the President, and the legal implications in the absence of any communication from Speaker of the National Assembly Justin Muturi.

The Constitution sets clear timelines within which a bill should be assented to by the President upon receipt from the office of the Clerk of the National Assembly.

"If the President does not assent to a bill or refer it back within 14 days... the bill shall be taken to have been assented to on the expiry of that period," states the Constitution. The Bill was passed by the National Assembly on July 9.

A credible source within the House, however, told The Standard that the bill may have been taken to the President for assent only last Monday, raising questions about the delay.

"The President is studying the bill," said the source who claimed that the recent visit by US President Barack Obama had delayed the forwarding of the Bill to State House.

Mr Muturi could not be reached for comment as he was said to be out of the country. But according to Deputy Speaker Joyce Laboso, the Bill is with the legal department.

"The amount of time a bill takes with the legal department depends on its nature. Every bill stays with us for different periods depending on the technicalities involved," she said.

Solicitor General Njee Muturi yesterday said he was not sure about the status of the bill.

"I'm not sure if the bill has been forwarded or not, unless I confirm on Monday (today)," Mr Muturi said.

However, two weeks ago, State House clarified that it was not in possession of the bill, with Spokesman Manoah Esipisu saying that the President was yet to receive it.

"Parliament has not yet transmitted the instruments to the President for his assent," said Mr Esipisu.

Initially, the bill sponsored by the Justice and Legal Affairs committee was designed to change the tenure of EACC commissioners from full time to part time and raise their number from three to five.

It also changes the mode of appointment of commissioners by doing away with a recruiting panel composed of representatives of diverse groups and instead hands the Public Service Commission (PSC) the mandate to recruit them.

But it is the amendment by Kiminini MP Chris Wamalwa that included the sacking of EACC Chief Executive Halakhe Waqo and his deputy Michael Mubea that has sparked controversy.

The amendments had proposed that the office of Secretary and the Deputy Secretary become vacant upon the enactment of the Bill and the current holders of office remain in place in an acting capacity pending the appointment of the substantive holders.

But three weeks later, confusion shrouds the status of the bill, with claims of 'sabotage' already being made by a number of MPs who supported the amendments.

When the EACC Bill was brought to the House, it revealed deep seated opinions on the fate of the EACC secretariat.

Despite spirited lobbying by MPs opposed to the bill, the efforts collapsed under the weight of a determined onslaught by the bill's proponents including members of the House Justice and legal affairs committee. The House consequently voted 70 -39 in support of the amendment.

Proponents of the bill now see a hidden hand in the delay to sign it into law. But at play are deep seated partisan interests that have traditionally clouded the fight against corruption.