President Kenyatta made the statements when he held a meeting with the top leadership of the EACC led by its Chairman Retired Archbishop Eliud Wabukala and Chief Executive Officer Halake Waqo at State House Nairobi Saturday/PSCU
NAIROBI, Kenya, Aug 18 — President Uhuru Kenyatta has assured the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) that they have his full support and urged them to step up the fight against corruption and economic crimes in the country.
The President at the same time advised the EACC to work closely with other agencies mandated to fight the vice, adding that the war against graft should not be a source of competition within Government.
President Kenyatta made the statements when he held a meeting with the top leadership of the EACC led by its Chairman Retired Archbishop Eliud Wabukala and Chief Executive Officer Halake Waqo at State House Nairobi Saturday.
“Nothing will be further from the truth to say that you do not have my support,” said the President, as he urged the commission to work harder to support the achievement of Kenya’s development goals.
President Kenyatta said the anti-corruption fight will bear more fruits if it is conducted through the multi-agency framework which brings together the Directorate of Criminal Investigation (DCI), the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (ODPP) and the EACC as well as other security agencies.
The renewed anti-corruption drive has led to unprecedented arrests of graft suspects and arraignment in court of senior government officials suspected of involvement in the theft of public resources.
On his part, the EACC leadership updated the President on recent milestones achieved by the commission in the fight against corruption.
In the last financial year, EACC recovered illegally acquired assets and cash worth Sh488 million from individuals and institutions through court proceedings and out-of-court settlements.
Of the Sh488 million collected, Sh76 million were cash recoveries while Sh412 million were in form of assets comprising of land and other immovable assets.
Archbishop Wabukala informed the Head of State that his agency has acted proactively and disrupted 12 suspected cases of corrupt dealings and in the process saved the country an estimated Sh4.7 billion that would have otherwise been lost.
Chairman Wabukala also briefed the President on the EACC’s strategic plan for the year 2018/2019 in which the Commission prioritises its involvement in policy formulation and the promotion of ethical conduct among Kenyans.
Archbishop Wabukala observed that developing an ethical nation is more effective in protecting public resources than focusing on litigation and recovery of stolen assets.
He added that the EACC is continuously and closely monitoring the use of funds in the Counties and is working with wananchi to ensure that public resources are used prudently.
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