Ahead of the August general elections, aspirants with graft cases face slim chances of vying for elective positions as the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) Noordin Haji tightens the noose against them.
The DPP stated that leaders impeached over integrity issues and those facing corruption cases will not be allowed to seek elective posts in the upcoming elections.
“My office is focusing on election offences. We need to invest our resources and pay attention to violence related to the General Election. However, we will still focus on prosecuting corruption cases,” Haji spoke during the 4th International Association of Prosecutors and the East Africa Association of Prosecutors in Mombasa.
Mr. Haji was referring to leaders such as Governors Mike Sonko, Ferdinand Waititu and Mahmoud Abdi who were impeached for corruption allegations while in office, but have been warming up for the upcoming general elections. They failed to adhere to Chapter Six on leadership and integrity which maintains that a leader when in office must uphold good conduct, financial probity and restrictions. For this reason, The High Court, in the impeachment and corruption cases facing governors, restricted the accused from accessing their public office until the cases were concluded.
There’s a rising trend of individuals who are openly alleged of abuse of office through corruption, vying afresh for offices, yet this is not what leadership entailed. Haji as the DPP expressed concern about this trend adding sternly that these politicians should not be allowed to participate in the political process.
To back up the war against graft, the DPP said that discussions were underway with the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission to bar such leaders from seeking elective positions in accordance with the Constitution.
At the same event, the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) chief executive Twalib Mbarak said that leaders linked to corruption, murder among other integrity issues, are seeking elective posts and they should not be allowed to vie in the upcoming elections. He added that such leaders, should not exploit the loopholes in chapter six of the constitution.
“As a commission we have tried, but our hands are tied. We know most of our leaders are not fit to vie for those positions, but the amendment of this section leaves a lot of loopholes that are being used to blackmail the commission,” Mr Mbarak said.
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