MPs have weakened a crucial anti-graft law that will make it extremely difficult for the government to nab corrupt state officers and lawmakers.
The revelation comes at a time when the public has sustained pressure on President William Ruto with back-to-back street protests to rein in on corrupt officials and initiate a lifestyle audit.
The senators changed the Conflict of Interest Bill, 2023 and attendant schedules to allow state officers and their families to do business with the government.
In the changes that have irked the EACC, the lawmakers deleted at least 20 clauses and amended more than 15 others, overhauling the state-backed Bill that sought to tame the runaway graft.
They removed the provision in the original Bill that barred state officers from directly or indirectly doing business with the government.
“A public officer shall not acquire an interest in a partnership, private company or any other legal entity that is a party to a contract with the reporting (state) entity in which the public officer serves,” the deleted section reads.
The lawmakers removed a schedule in the Bill to do away with an initial amendment that barred state officers from trading with the state.
The provision states, “A state organ or public entity shall not enter into a contract for procurement with a state or public officer.”
“A state or public officer shall not directly or indirectly award or influence the award of a contract to the state officer's or public officer's spouse or child or the officer's business associate or agent,” it says.
The MPs scrapped a requirement for wealth declaration to the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission by state officers.
In the amendment, the senators also removed the provision disengaging public officers from any other gainful employment which is inherently incompatible with their official duties.
The senators also stripped the EACC of the mandate to oversee the management of conflicts of interest for public officers.
They have denied the commission powers to develop an effective system for reporting violations of the law after deleting several provisions.
The lawmakers did away with the section allowing the public, upon application, to access information regarding the wealth declaration of a state officer.
They also shielded themselves and MCAs from declaring any direct pecuniary interest during debate or proceedings in the chamber or committee.
“Subject to the Constitution or any other relevant written law, a member of Parliament or a MCA shall declare any direct pecuniary interest or benefit of whatever nature... in any debate or proceeding in the relevant House of Parliament or county assembly, as the case may be,” the deleted provision says.
The Bill, which originated from the Cabinet, was considered by the National Assembly, before it was sent to the Senate.
Speaker Amason Kingi sent the amended Bill back to the National Assembly, through his counterpart Moses Wetangula, for further consideration.
Should the National Assembly agree with the changes, the Bill will be sent to the President for assent.
Meanwhile, the proposed law will be submitted to a joint mediation committee of the two Houses should the National Assembly reject the changes.
The Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission, whose powers have been diluted in the changes, has bitterly protested the amendment as a clawback on the fight against graft.
“The most tragic change by the senate is a proposal to delete the offence of conflict of interest from the existing law hence allowing state officials and their family members to directly trade with public institutions they serve in,” said EACC CEO Twalib Mbarak.
“This is despite the conflict of interest being the bedrock of corruption scandals investigated by EACC, out of which, thousands of suspects, including 10 governors have been charged in court.”
Calls for lifestyle audits on public officers dominated demands to President Ruto by the young protesters who link top state officers to massive graft due to their largesse and opulent lifestyles.
Ironically, the lawmakers watered down the anti-graft law at the time when they had trained their guns on the anti-graft agency over alleged inaction to tame graft.
During a heated debate on the ‘State of the Nation’, last week, the lawmakers blamed EACC for run-away graft and demanded its immediate dissolution.
“We must invite the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) here and they must tell us why we are not succeeding," said Majority leader Aaron Cheruiyot.
"Is it because of the law? What do we need to do as a country?”
The Kericho Senator said EACC officers have been captured by graft cartels both in the county and national government.
"They (EACC officers) are quickly captured and become appendages of the corrupt system in our various counties. The same can be said nationally,” he said.
Nandi Senator Samson Cherargei called for the disbandment of the commission.
“I propose that the EACC must be disbanded forthwith. They have failed from national to counties. When you steal, they come to see you nyuma ya tent [secretly], they slap you on the wrist and they go away,” he said.
In the amendments, the senators scrapped the requirement for public officers to submit to the Commission a declaration of their income, assets and liabilities of themselves.
This also applies to the wealth owned by their spouses and children under the age of eighteen years.
“A public officer shall in a periodical or final declaration provide information on any material change in, or changes affecting any of the categories of income, assets or liabilities," the deleted clause says.
"...in the schedule of mandatory declarations that have occurred within the two years before the declaration.”
In addition, they removed a requirement for a public officer to, within 30 days of appointment, submit an initial declaration relating to his financial affairs for one year before appointment.
They also removed the clause requiring every public officer to, once every two years within the period of service, submit a declaration relating to their financial affairs.
“A public officer shall, within thirty days after ceasing to be a public officer, submit a final declaration relating to his financial affairs as at the date he ceases to be a public officer,” the deleted section states.