EACC bosses get one more year pending vetting

EACC Chief Executive Officer Halakhe Waqo (left) and his deputy Michael Mubea

Two top Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) officials will stay in office for at least one year pending their vetting after President Uhuru Kenyatta’s recommendations were upheld by the National Assembly.

Although MPs had wanted to shorten the period of vetting of EACC officials to six months within enactment of the new law, they could not raise the simple majority needed to amend the President’s memorandum that detailed the one year.

It is a relief to EACC Chief Executive Officer Halakhe Waqo and his deputy Michael Mubea whom MPs had initially wanted sacked before Uhuru recommended the vetting.

Once Uhuru assents to the Bill to amend the EACC Act, the recruitment of new commissioners will be handled by the Public Service Commission (PSC) that replaces the selection panel comprising representatives of various groups.

On Wednesday, the Justice and Legal Affairs Committee had differed with Uhuru’s proposal that EACC secretariat should stay in office for one year pending their vetting.

The House team, chaired by Samuel Chepkonga (Ainabkoi), instead proposed that the secretariatshould stay in office for six months.

“Within six months of the commencement of this Act, EACC shall develop a criteria to vet all employees of the commission and determine whether the employees are fit to continue serving in the commission. The commission shall terminate the services of a person determined unfit to continue serving,” the committee said on Tuesday. Its report was tabled before the National Assembly on Wednesday.

Uhuru rejected the Ethics and Anti-Corruption (Amendment) Bill, 2015, early this month and returned it to Parliament for reconsideration. The bill was sponsored by Kiminini MP Chris Wamalwa.

While rejecting the bill to sack Waqo and Mubea, Uhuru cited the need to give them fair administrative action, suggesting they would undergo fresh vetting after recruitment of new commissioners.

The House will now debate the report, before the bill is taken back to the President for assent. If Uhuru disagrees with the proposal by the committee, the bill will be returned for a second time to the National Assembly.

The team said Mr Wamalwa had agreed with Uhuru’s recommendation in principle.

It was, however, of the opinion that Uhuru’s recommendation would violate the rights of the affected employees.

“The mover of the amendment (Wamalwa) was persuaded by the President’s recommendation in principle. While the team was also agreeable to the recommendation, it noted that the recommendation provided for a period of vetting that could contravene the right of the affected EACC employees to fair and expeditious determination of any issues surrounding their employment,” the report said, without elaborating.