Also on the list are several heads of parastatals, senior government officials, and Members of the County Assembly who are believed to have acted in violation of Chapter Six of the Constitution and the Leadership and Integrity Act, 2012. Higher Education Loans Board (HELB) Chief Executive Officer Charles Ringera, National Museums of Kenya director general Mzalendo Kibunja, and National Health Insurance Fund PRO Antony Simiyu
The Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) has placed several state officers on the radar, the commission believes the officers acted against their professional ethics. Top on the list is former Police Spokesman Charles Owino who has been slapped with a show cause letter by the commission.
Mr Owino is currently the director of Kenya National Focal Point on Small Arms and Light Weapons; he was issued with a demand notice over his political activities ahead of the last general elections. The Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission said in a new report that the senior police officer was asked to explain why he did not observe the need to be neutral.
“The nature of the notice was to give an explanation on failure to observe political neutrality as a public officer,” the EACC 2022 annual report reads in part. Mr Owino tried to contest for the Siaya County governorship; he was then affiliated with Azimio La Umoja. He was eventually picked as a running mate to former Rarieda MP Nicholas Gumbo before bolting out and returning to the police service.
Also on the list are several heads of parastatals, senior government officials, and Members of the County Assembly who are believed to have acted in violation of Chapter Six of the Constitution and the Leadership and Integrity Act, 2012. Higher Education Loans Board (HELB) Chief Executive Officer Charles Ringera, National Museums of Kenya director general Mzalendo Kibunja, and National Health Insurance Fund PRO Antony Simiyu.
Kenya Tourism Board CEO Betty Addero Radier was also slapped with caution for taking an irregular detour trip to London. EACC reports that the KTB boss spent four days on a personal matter without approval and clearance from her supervisors. The anti-graft agency says she took a trip to London, ‘yet she was scheduled to attend an official function in Berlin.
Former Naivasha MP John Karanja was also cautioned for utilizing Ksh. 457,320 while posing as having travelled to The Netherlands. EACC says the lawmaker surrendered the imprest as if he had travelled “yet he did not travel to The Netherlands as scheduled.”
Close to his case is that of Fredrick Kabunge, a deputy director of aircraft accident investigation at the transport department, who also claimed allowance for an activity he did never attend. The officer claimed Ksh. 52,000 for an air accident investigation at the Aberdare Ranges in Nyandarua County. For Kibunja, EACC sought that he pays funds irregularly paid to his driver David Okello for unauthorized trips. The anti-graft agency says the National Museums of Kenya paid the driver a daily subsistence allowance for unofficial trips made for 74 days.
