EACC, DPP and AG oppose MP Ruku’s proposed changes to anti-graft law

The Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC), the Attorney General, the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (ODPP) and Transparency International Kenya have raised red flags over a bill before the justice and legal affairs committee at the National Assembly.

The Anti-Corruption and Economic Crimes (Amendment) Bill, 2023 sponsored by Mbeere North MP Geoffrey Ruku proposes to delete sections 45(2)b and c which criminalize failure to comply with procurement guidelines or engage in a project without prior planning.

EACC in a memorandum to parliament maintains that the deletion of the two key corruption offences will remove essential mechanisms for enforcing accountability and create legal escape routes for perpetrators of corruption thus opening a floodgate of corruption scandals in the country.

The ethics body, in the document, says public procurement accounts for between 10 per cent to 13 per cent of the Gross Domestic Product thus the need to protect the great proportions of public resources expended through public procurement.

The Attorney General on his part said that the proposed amendment “is not in line with our anti-corruption policy framework and international obligations that call for the strengthening of the legal framework for combating corruption.”

The AG held that the amendments remove procurement fraud and malpractices from the ambit of corruption and economic crimes.

The ODPP said they are opposed to the deletion of section 45(2)b as the amendments would have far-reaching implications that would negatively impact the legal mechanisms established to protect the public from theft of public resources.

The ODPP said that procurement processes constitute the greatest exposure with respect to corruption within the public service and thus the need to have the existing procurement laws and regulations in place, to protect the public from corruption within the public service.   

The ODPP maintained that the offence of engaging in a project without prior planning was meant to protect the government from potential legal actions.

The proposed amendments have also attracted the criticism of non-state actors with Transparency International saying that it is opposed to the bill in its totality.

Transparency International holds that the bill goes against the public interest, the principles of public finance, leadership and integrity standards and the national values and principles of governance which include accountability, rule of law, good governance and integrity.

The organization says that criminal sanctions for corruption offences serve to hold perpetrators of corruption liable and act as a deterrent.