The Kenya Devolution Civil Society Organisations, which brings together lobby groups from counties, now want the Directorate of Criminal Investigations to probe governors and senators bribery allegations.

This comes following claims by governors that they were being asked to pay bribes when they appear before Senate committees for grilling.

The claims, the civil society groups said, point to deep-seated corruption within the oversight architecture meant to protect citizens.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T3kIzlrZYlA

“We call upon Directorate of Criminal Investigations and Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission to immediately investigate these allegations,” they said in a joint statement

“Bribery of public officials undermines the foundation of devolution, if true both those who pay and those who receive bribes must face the full force of the law,” read the statement

The group argued that in order to fix accountability gaps and restore public trust the law ought to be amended to allow accredited civil society organisations groups with a governance mandate.

This, they said, will allow them to oversee proceedings of the Senate, the National Assembly and all 47 County Assemblies.

“The observer status would allow the Civil Society Organisations to monitor proceedings in real-time and report to the public, deter corruption and provide technical input on governance and accountability matters,” they said.

They explained that the presence of a neutral party in the proceedings will also ensure that oversight is conducted in the open and that the gap between the parliament and the people will be closed.

“When governors refuse to account for public funds, they deny citizens their transparent governance. When senators demand or receive bribes to clear governors, they turn oversight into commercial transaction,” the group added

At the same time, they asked the Senate to make public all proceedings, documents and evidence.