President William Ruto and former Prime Minister Raila Odinga face a fresh barrier after the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) rejected the nomination of former Kakamega Governor Wycliffe Oparanya as the Cabinet Secretary (CS) for the Ministry of Cooperatives and Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprise Development.
In response to a letter of inquiry from the National Assembly regarding the integrity of CS nominees, EACC indicated that Oparanya has questions to answer concerning graft cases.
In the letter dated 29th July 2024, the Commission elaborated that Oparanya’s integrity is questionable, based on investigations into allegations of corruption during his tenure as the governor of Kakamega.
EACC said it has filed for preservation orders against Oparanya’s assets, suspecting them to be proceeds of corruption arising from conflicts of interest, with the matter still pending in court.
“The Commission conducted an investigation on allegations of corruption against the nominee for offences committed during his stint as the Governor, County Government of Kakamega,” read part of the letter.
“Upon conclusion of the investigation, the Commission submitted a report to the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) recommending prosecution of the nominee on various charges, including conspiracy to commit an offence of corruption, conflict of interest, abuse of office, and money laundering.”
However, Oparanya obtained a conservatory order staying any arrest or prosecution based on information obtained by the Commission pursuant to investigative warrants granted to the Commission.
This letter from the EACC was in response to a previous letter written by the Clerk of the National Assembly, Samuel Njogore, seeking a background check on integrity matters from the EACC regarding the nominees.
Also Read: ODM Names Replacements for John Mbadi & Opiyo Wandayi in Parliament
Public Appointments Act & EACC Mandate
While the Integrity Center has cleared all the other nominees, Oparanya faces significant obstacles due to these findings.
According to the Public Appointments Act, which outlines procedures for parliamentary approval of constitutional and statutory appointments, the relevant house of parliament must consider several factors.
These include the procedure used to arrive at the nominee, any constitutional or statutory requirements relating to the office in question, and the suitability of the nominee for the appointment, including their abilities, experience, and qualities.
In this context, the Constitution mandates the EACC to implement provisions of Chapter 6 on leadership and integrity, providing direction on the nominee’s suitability regarding integrity issues.
Also Read: Joho, Oparanya & Mbadi Resign from ODM
Oparanya Vetting
The vetting committee will now have this information at its disposal as the processes for cabinet secretaries commence on Thursday, August 1.
Oparanya is scheduled to appear before the committee on Sunday, August 4.
As Kenyans call for the committee on appointments to be strict and unforgiving towards nominees with integrity issues, it’s a catch 22 situation for Ruto and raila.
The fourth quarterly report of 2023 by the EACC exposed kickbacks worth Ksh2.2 billion from six companies awarded 60 contracts by the Kakamega County Government.
Additionally, the report highlighted that the former governor leased his land to the county government, receiving over Ksh56 million in a clear case of conflict of interest.
ODM CS Nominees Resign
The developments after the ODM party announced that Oparanya had resigned as the deputy party leader alongside former Mombasa Governor Ali Hassan Joho who was nominated as the Mining CS.
National Treasury CS nominee John Mbadi and National Assembly Minority Leader Opiyo Wandayi also resigned from their leadership positions in the ODM party.
Mbadi was the party’s national chairperson while Wandayi served as the Secretary Political Affairs.
Follow our WhatsApp Channel for real-time news updates:
https://whatsapp.com/channel/0029VaB3k54HltYFiQ1f2i2C
