The Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission has been taken to task by the Senate over the slow pace of corruption cases it is handling in National and County Governments.

EACC CEO Abdi Mohamud, who appeared before the Senate County Public Accounts Committee, had difficulty explaining to Senators why the commission was taking too long to tackle some of the corruption cases that it has been handling.

Committee Chairperson Homa Bay Senator Moses Kajwang sought to know the status of 184 reports of corruption cases in various County Governments and County Assemblies where they have recommended action to be taken against the culprits involved.

“The Senate went to Turkana in September 2023 where we found the county headquarters had gobbled up Sh800 million and it was not complete while the foundation of the Governor’s official residence had taken Sh200 million with a report given to EACC, what is the status of this case?” asked Kajwang.

The Homa Bay Senator said that these are some of the issues that make Kenyans feel that EACC is a toothless bulldog or it may have gone to bed with corrupt individuals saying there was need to restore the credibility of the commission by proving that it was working to tackle corruption.

He pointed out that Marsabit Governor Mohamud Ali appeared before the committee last year and could not explain expenditure of Sh8 billion allocated to the county only for EACC to dramatise his arrest and that of former Treasury Cabinet Secretary Ukur Yattani.

“Sometimes the EACC appears to be pursuing a certain narrative or agenda which should not be the case. A good example is the Marsabit Governor arrest after appearance before the Senate, the commission needs to be proactive and come up with results visible to Kenyans,” said Kajwang.

Mohamud told Senators that 184 cases recommended by the Senate committee for action to the EACC for the last five years were in various stages of investigation revealing that they normally receive around 4,000 complaints annually for investigation but due to shortage of staff there was a backlog.

The EACC CEO said that the organisation has a staff establishment of 1,769 positions. However, they currently have only 760 staff members, resulting in a significant shortage of personnel. He added that the body has only 11 regional offices across the country, thus affecting service delivery.

He said that the commission had requested for Sh7 billion from the exchequer to run its operations in this financial year but had only been given Sh4 billion, which means that some of its operations will be affected, calling for Parliament to ensure it receives the full budgetary allocation it had requested.

Senators challenged Mohamud when he said that he could not reveal the status of the cases they are handling, with Kajwang asking him what law he was using to do that bearing in mind that they have an obligation to report to Parliament.

Nairobi Senator Edwin Sifuna said that they have been blamed for becoming a talk show with no teeth to bite since as the Senate they have done their work of pointing out corruption cases and that it was upon the EACC to tell the country what it has done with them.

“We have seen the EACC Chairperson speaking about some matters that are under investigation by the commission, does it mean that he is not aware of the sections of the laws you are talking about? You should point out clearly since the commission is the creation of an act of parliament,” said Sifuna.

Kitui Senator Enoch Wambua said that if EACC was doing investigations in secrecy, then it could equally terminate the cases silently, stating that there was no law barring the commission from revealing the status of the cases they are handling.