Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission must adhere to the law

Reports that some officers from the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) in Nakuru County stormed Bahati Police Station and released a woman held at the station as a suspect raises pertinent questions on the role of the anti-corruption body and the bounds within which it should carry out its mandate.

Under the Anti-Corruption and Economic Crimes act, EACC is mandated to fight and prevent corruption at all levels of government and industry. This fight must be carried out in a structured manner that precludes acting out of malice and on unverified information supplied by people who might be pushing their personal agenda.

The EACC is vested with the powers to carry out investigations and institute corrective measures in liaison with the Judiciary, since it has not been vested with absolute powers, hence need for authorisation from the court before certain actions are undertaken.

It is not in doubt that often, some policemen overstep their bounds in their zeal to extort bribes from people arrested after committing one crime or another. It is not in doubt that sometimes police arrest purely out of ignorance of the law.

Such cases abound, but does the EACC have powers and authority to storm other institutions, make arrests, free suspects and confiscate important records without following the legal process?

The answer is no. Just like other statutory bodies and arms of Government, the anti-corruption body has to operate within the law.

In releasing the suspect from Bahati police station, even though the law clearly stipulates suspects should not be held for more than two days without being taken to a court of law, the EACC officials in Nakuru assumed magisterial powers and proclaimed the suspect's innocence without trial.

Over the years, EACC has failed to prove its mettle in fighting high-level corruption cases that permeate all levels of Government institutions and raiding rural police stations to free petty offenders only worsens its record.