NAIROBI: The Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission has once again suspended deputy CEO Michael Mubea for 90 days over the sale and transfer of Integrity Centre Building.
The commission met Monday and made the decision accusing Mubea of among others insubordination.
Mubea was not in office by the time the commission had agreed to suspend him. Chairman Mumo Matemu wrote him a two page letter informing him of the decision.
He also accused Mubea of hiding five files whose cases had been reported to the commission. The details of the said files are yet to be known.
Matemu said the case on Mubea is an internal matter and they are handling it.
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"This is an internal HR matter and we are currently handling it well. We will inform you on the progress soon," he said.
The commission is also understood to be planning to discipline CEO Halakhe Waqo over allegations of insubordination.
The decision was postponed in the commission meeting since he was away on a medical leave.
The CEO had successfully rescinded a decision by the commission to suspend Mubea last month on grounds it was unprocedural.
The conflict between the commission and the secretariat intensified later on after the Waqo handed over a secret list to the president without involving the commissioners.
The decision to suspend Mubea came ahead of today's deciding moment on the fate of the commissioners.
Matemu and his deputy Irene Keino's fate would be known over a petition for their removal.
Reports say some members of Justice and Legal Affairs Committee met in State House last Wednesday to plot for the ouster of the two.
The meeting came after an earlier one where the draft report recommending the dismissal of the petition by lawyer Geoffrey Oriaro was to be adopted was deliberately scuttled by some MPs.
Oriaro petitioned the House to kick-start the process of removing the two from office on grounds that they had compromised the war on graft.
Oriaro wants the House to recommend to the President to appoint a tribunal to investigate the conduct of the two commissioners, claiming they have violated the constitution, the EACC Act, Anti-Corruption Act and the Penal Code.
On the house, Matemu has sought the help of National Land Commission in the investigations into its sale
Matemu wrote to NLC chairman Muhamad Swazuri saying they are looking for corruption that may have taken place in the transaction.
"On our part, we are looking into any possible acts of corruption that may have taken place," said Matemu in the letter dated April 13.
The letter was copied to the Director of CID Ndegwa Muhoro and chairman of Parliamentary Lands Committee.
He said in November 1994, Revak Limited, which was the registered proprietor of the land where the building sits, took an unsecured loan of Sh152 million from Trade Finance Limited.
"However, when the financial institution went under and was placed under the Central Bank's Deposit Protection Fund, a court order was issued securing the loan by placing a charge against the property," said Matemu.
He added if the loan remains unpaid, it will now be escalating to about Sh500 million and the depositors would therefore be at a great risk if the security for the debt is not regularized.
A probe that was internally launched to probe the transfer of the house failed to start its work over frustrations.
Mubea was to among those be probed on allegations of improper conduct over the transfer of Integrity Centre where the EACC is based.
The iconic building is being claimed by Tegus Limited and it has informed EACC that it will not renew its lease which expires in June this year.
The EACC has questioned how the title deed to Integrity Centre, which was in the hands of the Deposit Protection Fund Board (DPFB) was transferred from the previous owner – Revack Limited – to Tegus.
The DPFB held the title on behalf of investors of Trust Bank, which was liquidated in 2001.
The building changed ownership in June 2013.
Matemu claims the building was improperly transferred to Tegus and accused Mr Mubea of working in cohorts with the company to defraud the public.
When he appeared before the parliamentary committee, Mubea is said to have denied any impropriety on his part.
Investigations into the ownership of Integrity Centre began in June 2013 at the request of the then director of DPFB, Ms Rose Detho.
In March last year, Tegus Ltd, through their lawyer Kipkenda & Company Advocates, wrote to EACC claiming that some officials there were forging documents on the ownership of the building.
"Our client gathered information from the Ministry of Lands registry that Mr Kipsang and his comrades in crime were in the process of destroying the original files of the property to pave way for the creation of a set of fake documents of ownership. This is driven by the false believe in some officers in Ardhi House that the title to the property has expired," reads part of the letter.
