Step up war on corruption

The latest executive leadership change at the national anti-graft agency has certainly been overshadowed by Tuesday’s terrorist bomb attack at a Nairobi hotel.

However, the new CEO of the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission, Mr Twalib Mbarak, will definitely by now have his hands full as he charts his course.

He takes over a key agency that may not be hogging the headlines now but is pivotal in the war on the sleaze ravaging the country.

Corruption is an evil that takes away resources from development to line the pockets of a few officials, their collaborators and lackeys.

It permeates every sector, and, of course, also undermines the war on terror.

Police and Immigration officials have come under fire for allowing the entry into the country of dubious characters, including terrorists, after their palms are greased.

Some have been involved in the terrorist attacks in which scores of Kenyans have been killed. The illegal issuing of identity cards and travel documents is a loophole that must also be sealed.

As the specialist anti-graft agency, the EACC must complement the efforts of the directorates of Criminal Investigations and Public Prosecutions.

Only watertight cases that secure a conviction will send a strong message that graft will not be condoned.

Mr Mbarak has succeeded Mr Halakhe Waqo, whose tenure at the EACC has been rather lacklustre with nothing much to write home about.

It’s been a largely ineffective organisation that is long on talk and short on action.

The new CEO has sworn to rid the EACC of the hitches standing in the way of the anti-graft war.

We wish him well, but it will not be a walk in the park. To restore public confidence, he must ensure thorough investigations into graft cases to secure convictions, especially of some big fish.