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{
    "id": 1479342,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1479342/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 493,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Suba South, ODM",
    "speaker_title": "Hon. Caroli Omondi",
    "speaker": null,
    "content": "Let me begin by giving some examples of the most efficient and effective anti- corruption agencies in the world. The first one is the Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau of Singapore. Singapore is always rated as the least corrupt country in the world. That particular agency, as a matter of fact, is headed by a senior police officer. Not a man with the qualifications of a judge of a high court. The second most efficient anti-corruption agency in the world is in Sweden, a country known for least corruption. The agency is the National Anti- corruption Police Unit, headed by a police officer. I am giving these examples because the idea behind this proposal for amendment is that EACC is not able to conduct effective investigations because it does not have a legal mind heading it. Nothing could be further from the truth. The Australian National Anti-corruption Commission is headed by a judge, but for very specific reasons. Let us look specifically at the EACC Act we have in Kenya. Section 7(2) of the Act provides that the commissioners - the Chairperson and the members - serve on a part-time basis. They are not full-time employees of the Commission. To try and appropriate inefficiencies to them is actually to miss the point. They are part-time employees of the Commission. How that affects the work of the Commission should have been the focus of any proposed amendments. Secondly, the mandate of the EACC is broader than criminal investigations. Functions of EACC are much broader than investigations. They include suppression, detection, public awareness and other functions. There is no particular reason why a judge should head a commission on a part time basis. Thirdly, this country does not have a Criminal Investigations Act. As a matter of fact, I have proposed that we enact one. We do not know the standards, qualifications and training of investigators. This is where the problem is. It is not with the person heading the EACC. We do not have a Criminal Investigations Act. If we had an Act that stipulates how criminal investigations are to be conducted, empowers investigators, be they DCI or EACC officers, The electronic version of the Official Hansard Report is for information purposesonly. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor."
}