We're Not Investigating As Of Now Any Bribery Within Parliament, EACC Boss Abdi Mohamud Reveals
- The Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission ruled out ongoing investigations into alleged bribery by MPs, distancing itself from President William Ruto’s claims
- EACC said no credible complaints or evidence had been submitted to the agency, stressing that investigations must be triggered by verified information and not public statements
- CEO Abdi Mohamud noted that EACC has the legal authority to pursue bribery within parliament, but emphasised the law requires clear proof
- He revealed that the Commission is, however, pursuing at least seven cases against MPs linked to alleged misuse of the Constituency Development Fund
Didacus Malowa, a journalist at TUKO.co.ke, brings over three years of experience covering politics and current affairs in Kenya.
The Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) has clarified that it is not investigating any bribery allegations involving Members of Parliament.
Source: UGC
This is despite recent claims by President William Ruto that some lawmakers were demanding money to influence parliamentary processes.
EACC Chief Executive Officer Abdi Mohamud said the Commission had not received any credible complaints or formal evidence that would warrant opening a probe into such allegations.
Search option is now available at TUKO! Feel free to search the content on topics/people you enjoy reading about in the top right corner ;)
He explained that while bribery within parliament would fall squarely under their mandate, the law requires verifiable information before any investigations can commence.
"We are not investigating as of now any you know bribery within the parliament, whether it is a national assembly or within the senate. Of course if the information comes that there are certain people who may have received a bribe or who are likely to receive a bribe it is our duty to investigate because the bribery act the bribery act actually mandates the commission to investigate all issues within bribery and that is our mandate but as of now we do not have clear evidence as to whether members of parliament receive bribes within the parliament by performance of their duties," Mohamud said.
His statement follows remarks made earlier in the week by Ruto, who accused some MPs of soliciting millions of shillings to push or block legislations.
Why is EACC investigating individual MPs?
Although no bribery-related investigations are ongoing within parliament, Mohamud confirmed that several MPs are already under scrutiny.
He explained that this was over the management of the National Government Constituency Development Fund (NG-CDF).
Source: Twitter
The NG-CDF, which allocates billions of shillings annually to constituencies, has long faced criticism over accountability and transparency.
He said the agency is currently handling about seven cases involving alleged mismanagement or irregular use of the funds.
"We're investigating about seven Constituency Development Fund investigations that are ongoing. Those are specific, as you know crime is not shared, crime is individualised, that those people who commit crimes are the only ones, those who commit crimes are the only ones that can be investigated. So the investigations on the members of the parliament that I've mentioned are to do with constituency development fund projects," he stated.
Source: TUKO.co.ke
