EACC says probe into Ksh.1.3B graft claims against Oparanya complete, file forwarded to ODPP

The Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) has revealed that it has forwarded former Kakamega Governor Wycliffe Oparanya's file to the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (ODPP) for further action after conducting in-depth investigations into his alleged graft offences.

This comes after Oparanya alongside his spouses were questioned by EACC detectives in August in relation to the alleged embezzlement of Ksh.1.3 billion during his two-term tenure as Kakamega Governor.

Appearing before the National Dialogue Committee on Tuesday, EACC Chairperson David Oginde underscored that the State agency only forwards the names of graft suspects to the ODPP for appropriate action after conducting thorough investigations into all reported offences.

"The cases that we deal with go through a lot of processes before being forwarded to the ODPP. It is a very vigorous process. Most of the cases that we forward to the ODPP rarely fail or are withdrawn and this is because of the kind of work that is done," Oginde told the committee.

"Like the recent case involving a former governor (Oparanya) we summoned to EACC offices for probing. As we speak now, we have just concluded our investigations into this particular person. We have forwarded that file to the ODPP for further action."

Oginde further intimated that Oparanya has a case to answer based on findings from EACC's investigations. 

"We cannot do that (forward files to the ODPP) without evidence of wrongdoing and we are going to follow this method because we have a systematic way of doing things," he stated.

Oginde similarly dismissed assertions made by a section of Azimio la Umoja One Kenya coalition party leaders following Oparanya's summons that the EACC had been weaponized by the State as a means to gag members of the opposition.

"The party to which this former governor belongs to came out in full force alleging that this was politicization and weaponization of EACC. Our mandate as EACC is that we are supposed to respond to all kinds of corruption and bribery cases," he said.

The EACC Chair added that the anti-graft watchdog needs additional funding from the State to effectively carry out its mandate.

"In order for these people to do the tasks that they need to do it requires a lot of resources and time. This is why we are asking that our capacity be increased so that we can act as quickly as possible on the cases that come up," he said.