Suspended Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) Vice Chairperson Irene Keino resigned Thursday hours after members of a tribunal to probe her and suspended chairman Mumo Matemu were sworn in.
Ms Keino tendered her resignation in a letter to President Uhuru Kenyatta, saying she did so to spare her family the anguish of a judicial process that will cause them unimaginable pain "and to lend my support in the fight against corruption".
This means only Mr Matemu will face the tribunal chaired by retired High Court judge Jonathan Havelock, and whose members are lawyers Margaret Wambui, Muathe Issa and Juster Nkoroi. The members were sworn in by Chief Justice Willy Mutunga. Jane Onsongo resigned in March as an EACC commissioner.
"My conscience is clear and I am not bitter. I wish the President well in the difficult task ahead of him and the country," said Keino.
"The commission and I have found ourselves in the proverbial hot water that has characterised the war on corruption in the past," she said.
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"For the avoidance of doubt, public service should always complement and support public interest. So even if certain events cause one personal pain and anguish, the cardinal principle of the greater good should prevail," she added in the letter.
She said she could not continue serving on the board and holding the office without the full confidence of all stakeholders given that the National Assembly and the President had inquired into her suitability and integrity by forming the tribunal.
She said she would have been pleased to step aside for a full public inquiry into any of the allegations made against her but opted to resign because Kenya can never win the war against corruption without personal sacrifice.
The tribunal will investigate the officials' conduct and determine whether they should be removed from the commission. The team, which promised to presents its findings in 60 days, is expected to begin work on Monday.
The Commission for the Implementation of the Constitution said it would move to the Supreme Court to seek its advisory opinion on the legality of the EACC without commissioners.
