Stakeholders want EACC allowed to retain share of recovered assets to boost graft war

Stakeholders and residents in Western Kenya have called on Parliament to amend anti-corruption laws to allow the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) to retain a percentage of funds and assets it recovers from corruption.

The stakeholders say the proposal would provide the commission with additional resources to strengthen investigations, speed up the recovery of stolen public assets and reduce delays in corruption cases.

Speaking during a regional public participation forum on EACC’s proposed budget for the 2027/2028–2029/2030 financial years in Bungoma, participants said inadequate resources remain a major challenge in the fight against corruption.

They argued that a better-resourced EACC would be able to investigate more cases within shorter timelines and ultimately recover more public funds and property.

Bungoma human rights activist Emmanuel Were proposed that a portion of recovered funds be returned to the commission to support its operations.

“EACC has been recovering grabbed public property iliyochukuliwa na matapeli. We as citizens tunasema ya kwamba kwa sababu EACC inarudisha hizo pesa Treasury, Treasury should consider that at least 30 per cent returns to the commission so that it is able to undertake its mandate without financial constraints,” said Were.

The stakeholders also called for stronger collaboration between EACC, the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC), the National Cohesion and Integration Commission (NCIC) and other State agencies to enforce leadership and integrity standards ahead of the 2027 General Election.

They said individuals implicated in corruption, as well as leaders accused of mobilising young people to perpetrate political violence, should be barred from contesting elective positions.

The participants further called on Parliament to expedite the enactment of the proposed Whistleblower Protection law, saying many Kenyans remain reluctant to report corruption for fear of victimisation and threats to their safety.

EACC Director of Field Services Jackson Mue said the absence of a specific law protecting whistleblowers and people who provide information to law enforcement agencies remains a challenge.

“It would be ideal if we had mechanisms for protecting whistleblowers and those who provide information to law enforcement agencies. Currently, we have protection agencies; we have a law which protects witnesses supporting cases which are in our courts, but we don’t have a law protecting those who provide information to law enforcement agencies," Mue stated.

The Bungoma forum, led by Mue, forms part of EACC’s public participation process to gather views from stakeholders as the commission prepares its budget for the 2027/2028–2029/2030 financial years.