Former Police Spokesman Charles Owino is among 38 state officials who were slapped with show cause letters by anti-graft agency EACC for breach of ethics.
Owino, who is currently director Kenya National Focal Point on Small Arms and Light Weapons, was issued with a demand notice over his political activities.
The Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission said in a new report that the senior police officer was asked to explain why he did not observe the need to be neutral.
“The nature of the notice was to give an explanation on failure to observe political neutrality as a public officer,” the EACC 2022 annual report reads in part.
Owino attempted the Siaya governor race last year and was affiliated to Azimio La Umoja.
He was eventually picked as a running mate to former Rarieda MP Nicholas Gumbo before bolting out and returning to the police service.
The report reveals that EACC issued an advisory to the then head of public service to alert all state and public officers to observe political neutrality.
It has also emerged that several heads of parastatals, senior government officials, and Members of County Assembly were cautioned for violation of Chapter Six of the Constitution and the Leadership and Integrity Act, 2012.
Notable names in the list are Higher Education Loans Board (Helb) chief executive officer Charles Ringera, National Museums of Kenya director general Mzalendo Kibunja, and National Health Insurance Fund PRO Antony Simiyu.
An official tourism ministry was also slapped with a caution for taking an irregular detour trip to London.
EACC reports that the officer spent four days on a personal matter without approval and clearance by supervisors.
The anti-graft agency says the officer took a trip to London, ‘yet then official was scheduled to attend an official function in Berlin.’
Former Naivasha MP John Karanja was also cautioned for utilizing Sh457,320 while posing as having travelled to Netherlands.
EACC says the lawmaker surrendered the imprest as if he had travelled “yet he did not travel to Netherlands as scheduled.”
Close to his case is that of Fredrick Kabunge, a deputy director of aircraft accident investigation at the Transport department, who also claimed allowance for an activity he did not attend.
The officer claimed Sh52,000 for an air accident investigation at the Aberdare Ranges in Nyandarua county which he did not attend.
Ringera, according to the EACC report, was issued a demand notice for funds irregularly paid to an employee of the loans board.
The report reveals that the monies – whose amount was not stated, were paid to one Geoffrey Monari between October 2019 and November 2020 as incremental credits.
For Kibunja, EACC sought that he pays funds irregularly paid to his driver David Okello for unauthorized trips.
The anti-graft agency says National Museums of Kenya paid the driver daily subsistence allowance for unofficial trips made for 74 days.
He was thus cautioned, “for failure to adhere to proper financial accountability measures on funds paid to his driver as daily subsistence allowance for unauthorized and unofficial travel.”
Simiyu, on the other hand, got into trouble with the anti-graft czar for ‘engaging in restricted gainful employment where he earned a double salary’.
EACC slapped the officer with a demand notice for recovery of the salary irregularly paid to him by NHIF.
The agency says it established that Simiyu was paid by NHIF while he was also concurrently employed at Likuyani constituency office as a Personal Assistant to area MP Enoch Kibunguchy.
“He held the two positions concurrently,” EACC said in the report released Monday.
Also in trouble is a UoN employee Tartisio Kinyanki amid the demand that he pays an un-serviced training bond when he was employed at Kenyatta National Hospital.
During the year under review, the EACC also cautioned the Narok Lands CEC Korinko ole Koisamou for failing to honour his legal and financial obligations in a land transaction.
The report shows that the case involved a transaction for the purchase of a plot in Narok town.
Public Sector Accounting Standards Board CEO Fredrick Riaga was also cautioned for drawing commuter allowance yet he was assigned a government car with a driver in tow.
The commission says it cautioned the official, “for breach of public service guidelines” over the commuter allowance he drew between October to November 2019.
Kenha board of directors chairman Wangai Ndirangu was also reprimanded for failing to conduct integrity checks on new employees at the roads agency.
He was cautioned, ‘for failing to ensure that, integrity verification was considered before appointments were made.’
Two deputy directors at the office of the auditor general were also served show cause letters for irregular approval of refund of tuition fees amounting to Sh212,625.
Maurice Odhiambo, who is in-charge of learning and development at OAG, was cautioned for approving refunds to Ben Otieno, the deputy director in charge of Human Resource.
EACC, while putting Odhiambo on the spot, said the payment was irregular and that the course application was backdated.
Otieno was for his part reprimanded for submitting a backdated course approval and application for refund of tuition fees.
An Aga Khan University lecturer was also cautioned for double employment. He was also a lecturer at University of Nairobi.
Several MCAs from Kisumu, Baringo, and Isiolo are also in the show cause list for engaging in physical fights within the assembly precincts.
Nandi county assembly clerk Barnaba Kosgei was also cautioned for employing his relatives at the assembly.