Abdi Mohamud, nominee for Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission chief executive officer, has vowed not to allow the agency to be turned into a tool for political witch hunt under his watch.
During the vetting by the Justice and Legal Affairs Committee of the National Assembly, he promised to run a professional anti-graft agency that is guided by the law.
“I do not belong to any political party, I will never belong any political party. I will not be used as a conveyor belt,” Mohamud told the team chaired by Tharaka MP George Murugara.
“So long as I am the CEO, we will not be used for political witch hunt. We will be guided by the law and the constitution.”
Mohamud is the deputy chief executive officer at the commission, a position he got after serving as director of investigations.
If approved, he will take over from Twalib Mbarak who was appointed by former President Uhuru Kenyatta when his administration bolstered the fight against graft.
The nominee was responding to questions by Kibwezi West MP Mwengi Mutuse who had raised concerns on the weaponisation of the anti-graft agencies to settle political scores.
“Would you have been given this job because you are politically correct and would be a conveyor belt or could you have been given the job to fix political opponents?” he posed.
There have been numerous claims in the past of the government using investigative agencies, including EACC, to fight those critical of the regime.
Opposition leaders in the recent past accused the state of weaponising the war on graft by going after them for their stand when the anti-graft agency was pursuing former Kakamega Governor Wycliffe Oparanya.
Mohamud, who declared his net worth at Sh130 million, also appeared to be blaming the Office of the Directorate of Public Prosecution “for being the weak link in the anti-graft war”.
For the former police officer, most cases fail at prosecution because the DPP relies on their prosecutors with no involvement in evidence gathering.
He told the vetting panel EACC had in the past requested to have their lawyers prosecute some of the cases, a request the DPP declined.
“Our relationship with ODPP is good but it needs to be better, ODPP has the responsibility to employ qualified people like lawyers to prosecute cases,” he said. “
We did a request [to have ODPP lawyers prosecute some of the cases] in the past and it was declined.”
Mohamud, who has two years to hit the retirement age, also told the committee he will have no problem exiting the office before his six-year term elapses.
Rarieda MP Otiende Amollo sought to know whether he would cling to the office even after attaining 60 years of age, with his term in office still running.
“If you get the position, you have six straight years and I have realised you are two years off retirement age.
Are you bound by the Public Service
Commission retirement age or you
will serve for the remainder of the
term?” the legislator asked.
