KISUMU, Kenya, Jan 25 – The Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) has come to the defense of its Chairman Bishop David Oginde over corruption allegations he made against the Homa Bay County Government.
Bishop Oginde who spoke in one of the local television channels on Monday in Kisumu accused the administration of Homa Bay County of mismanaging public funds.
In a quick rejoinder to the allegations, Governor Gladys Wanga wrote a letter to the Chairman to explain the premise he made the statements.
However, EACC spokesperson Eric Ngumbi says it is true the county government of Homa Bay is one of the counties with active cases of corruption.
Ngumbi says the Chairman was right to have made it known that Homa Bay County is corrupt.
“It is true that the county government of Homa Bay is one of the counties that are under active investigations by the Commission over corruption issues,” he said.
He clarified that the issues under investigation are not related to Governor Wanga but the county government.
“That county has existed as long as devolution has thrived in the country, the issues relate to the county government of Homa Bay in the various regimes including the current one,” he said.
Speaking to the press in Kisumu during a training workshop for journalists organized by Transparency International, Ngumbi says the investigations over corrupt deals in Homa Bay stretch to the past years.
“There are matters related to the current regime, the previous regime and the very first and this is because investigations by their nature do take long,” he said.
He further revealed that already the Commission has recorded statements in the county from various people.
Ngumbi says that the fact that the Commission has not grilled the Governor herself does not mean there are no active investigation cases in her backyard.
He says the Commission will continue getting statements from the relevant persons when their time comes.
The spokesperson further clarified that the engagement of EACC and county governments is not about the enforcement of laws alone but also about assisting the county governments to prevent corruption.
“We must appreciate the fact that the county government of Homa Bay is among the counties that have responded positively to the corruption prevention initiatives that the Commission has initiated,” he said.
He says Governor Wanga is among the governors who has shown interest in strengthening the accountability frameworks and internal controls in her county.
“So it should be clear that the Commission is after her county government, with some cases coming up during her reign,” he said.
During the Monday interview, Oginde says corruption in Homa Bay is running into billions of public money, which has been stolen.
“The only work that is being done in Homa Bay is stealing public funds and here we are talking about billions,” said Oginde.
Homa Bay County has in the recent past faced a number of accusations of paying billions of shillings to contractors for no work done.
In a recent workforce audit, it was discovered that 1,786 ghost workers exist in the payroll, taking home millions of shillings every month.
