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Keino quits EACC, won’t face tribunal

Keino who served as EACC vice-chairperson was to be investigated together with the chairman Mumo Matemu over allegations of incompetence and abuse of office/FILE

Keino who served as EACC vice-chairperson was to be investigated together with the chairman Mumo Matemu over allegations of incompetence and abuse of office/FILE

NAIROBI, Kenya, Apr 30 – Irene Keino has resigned as a commissioner of the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission “to save her family the anguish of a judicial process.”

Keino who served as EACC vice-chairperson was to be investigated together with the chairman Mumo Matemu over allegations of incompetence and abuse of office.

“I wish to confirm today, that I have resigned with immediate effect from the EACC,” she said in a statement to newsrooms.

“Although, I would have been pleased to step aside for a full public enquiry into any of the allegations made against me, I opt to resign because Kenya can never win the war against corruption without personal sacrifice.”

She went ahead to quote her mentor Eleanor Roosevelt who said: “A woman is like a tea bag; you never know how strong it is until it’s in hot water.”

“The commission and I have found ourselves in the proverbial hot water that has characterized the war on corruption in the past,” she added.

Keino and Matemu were suspended last week and a tribunal formed to investigate the accusations against them.

The four member tribunal was sworn in by Chief Justice Willy Mutunga on Thursday.

READ: Matemu, Keino tribunal takes oath

Keino explained her conscience was clear and she was not bitter.

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“Given that the National Assembly and His Excellency, the President have enquired into my suitability and integrity through the formation of a tribunal, I feel that to continue serving on the board and holding this office is not useful without the full confidence of all stakeholders.”

Before her suspension, Keino sensationally claimed on April 1 that some unnamed government officials had tried to lure her with an ambassadorial position in exchange for her job at the commission, but she has declined.

“I am obliged in my duties to defend the Constitution and the institution which I serve as a State Officer. I received a call at around 11.30am for a meeting,” she told reporters during a briefing at their Integrity centre offices.

She believed all the efforts to force EACC commissioners to resign, were linked to the Anglo Leasing cases and investigations on the Karen land grab.

“The attempt has also manifested itself in the fuelled internal feuds at the commission, the concealment of documents, the clear in instances of insubordination,” she stated.

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