Give us powers to prosecute, EACC says

EACC chair Bishop Eliud Wabukala.

The anti-corruption agency boss has asked that the commission be granted powers to prosecute.

Speaking in Nyeri on Wednesday, Bishop Eliud Wabukala said Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) would have more success fighting corruption if it took the cases it investigates to court.

“The law needs to be amended to give EACC the ability to prosecute cases, and then there will be more success,” Wabukala said.

Currently, the EACC investigates officials linked to corruption and forwards its findings to the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP).

He made the remarks on the same day that DPP Keriako Tobiko withdrew a Sh497,355 case against a former National Youth Service boss Nelson Githinji.

Last week, the DPP withdrew a corruption case involving senior Ministry of Lands officials.

Wabukala said EACC would scrutinise the files and recommendations of the DPP and bolster their case before forwarding it back for prosecution.

He said withdrawing the case did not mean that it had flopped but that the recommendations given by the DPP would guide the next step.

 “We will have our lawyers and detectives look at the cases again then strengthen our case,” he said.