EACC has never probed Gachagua official

Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua arrives at Parliament Buildings, Nairobi, during day two of Senate impeachment trial on October 17, 2024. [Elvis Ogina, Standard]

The Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) Deputy Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Abdi Ahmed Thursday stated that the anti-graft body had never investigated Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua in the past for any criminal matter.

Ahmed faced tough questions as he presented his statements to the Senate.

“We have not investigated Gachagua for any criminal matter in the past... we have not investigated the DP for any criminal culpability or any case,” he said.

Ahmed, a witness in the ongoing impeachment case against the DP, told the Senate that the EACC was served with summonses on Wednesday afternoon to respond to three specific areas, which Gachagua’s lawyer, Ndegwa Njiru, interrogated.

The first area Ahmed was tasked to appraise the Senate on involved an investigation the EACC conducted on the supply of long-lasting insecticide-treated nets at the Kenya Medical Supplies Agency (KEMSA).

He was also required to explain the declaration of gifts and donations received by Gachagua during his tenure in office, as stipulated by Section 14(5) of the Leadership and Integrity Act.

Additionally, Ahmed was asked to address the declaration of conflict of interest made to the EACC by the DP.

“In respect to this tender (KEMSA), are you aware that this Senate sat and conducted an independent investigation on this matter?” Njiru asked.

However, Ahmed maintained that he was only aware of the investigations conducted by the EACC and was simply responding to the summonses the Commission had been served.

“This was a tender (mosquito nets) that was poorly handled, and I wouldn’t want to speculate why it was handled that way, but from the look of things, there must have been some pressure somewhere,” he added.

He said that if the KEMSA Chief Executive had reported to the EACC that he had been intimidated by a State officer, they would have taken action.

“Of course, you understand how difficult it would be to open an investigation of that magnitude when no complaint has been made to us,” Ahmed said.

On the issue of gifts, Ahmed explained that Section 14 of the Leadership and Integrity Act, along with Section 5 of its Regulations, stipulate that gifts received by a public officer are considered donations to the State.

EACC is expected to receive a register of gifts from all State agencies every financial year for its records.

Regarding Gachagua, Ahmed stated that the EACC had not investigated the existence of cattle allegedly gifted to him. “The Act states that a person who receives a gift whose value exceeds Sh20,000 shall, within 48 hours of receiving it, surrender the gift to the public entity in which the officer is employed. A report shall be submitted within 30 days after the close of the financial year,” Ahmed explained.

Asked whether the Commission had received any such register from the office of the Deputy President, Ahmed responded: “Not to my knowledge.”