Kenya's Ethics and Anti Corruption deputy CEO goes on leave as probe against him begins

Kenya: Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) Deputy Director Michael Mubea will know his fate in two weeks.

His fate will be determined after a team set up to investigate him presents its report to the commission. Mubea began his annual leave yesterday.

The team is headed by EACC Head of Security. The team also includes a representative from the commission's legal services directorate, a police officer from the CID, an officer from the Director of Public Prosecutions and a member of Law Society of Kenya.

The LSK was requested to nominate a representative after the Commission on Administrative Justice (CAJ), commonly referred to Ombudsman, declined to send a representative on account that doing so would amount to conflict of interest. This is because the CAJ is already probing some officials of the commission.

The probe team has been asked to investigate Mubea (pictured) and other officers of the commission over the circumstances under which the Integrity Centre building, which houses EACC, changed hands from the Deposit Protection Fund to private hands and whether Mubea had began negotiations with some of the suspects in the Anglo leasing case without knowledge of the commission.

The team has until April 9 to hand in their report. "In the past, the EACC has received bad press and integrity concerns raised by the parliamentary committee on Justice and Legal Affairs. The committee's primary responsibility is to conduct investigations of the allegations against the DCEO-Technical Services and to determine the veracity of the allegations and recommendations," a circular by the commission says.

This came even as it emerged that EACC had terminated talks with National Social Security Fund (NSSF) for a deal to purchase office space.

The two disagreed after NSSF asked EACC to buy the property at market rate of about Sh1.36 billion and pay within 90 days while Treasury indicated it could only pay over a span of three years.

"In view of the observations, the commission resolved that negotiations with NSSF for purchase of six floors from the Social Security House Annexe... be terminated," said EACC Chief Executive Halakhe Waqo.