Members of Parliament have set a date to approve the nomination of two of President Uhuru Kenyatta’s nominees for the Position of Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC).
The set date is October 19, 2021 Tuesday and the MPs have called on members of the public to submit their views on the suitability of the two nominees.
“Pursuant to Article 118 of the Constitution and Section 6(9) of the Parliamentary Appointments (Approval) Act, the Justice and Legal Affairs Committee is inviting interested members of the public to submit any representations they may have written statements with supporting evidence on the suitability or otherwise of the nominees for the appointment to the office,” reads a notice by Clerk of the National Assembly Micheal Sialai.
The submissions must be sent to the Clerk of the National Assembly on or before October 15.
Once the interviews conclude, the National Assembly shall, within twenty-one days of the day it next sits after receipt of the name of an applicant vet and consider the applicant, and may approve or reject applicants for any or all vacancies in the Commission.
The President shall appoint the nominee, within a week of receipt of the name of the approved applicant from the National Assembly.
The President nominated Colonel (Rtd) Alfred Mutweta Mshimba and Monica Wanjiru Muiru to replace Dabar Abdi Maalim and Rose Mghoi Macharia who resigned in September this year.
They were among 21 candidates who were shortlisted by the Public Service Commission (PSC) for the positions which were left vacant by Rose Mghoi M. Macharia and Dr. Dabar Abdi Maalim.
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Preisdent Uhuru Kenyatta urged lawmakers to move with speed and approve the two nominees as he seeks to fill vacancies that have left EACC depleted and strained in its efforts to spearhead the fight against corruption.
The calls to Parliament for approvals are meant to avoid a leadership vacuum at the EACC, with the terms of the remaining two commissioners set to expire in December.
EACC currently has Sophia Lepuchirit and Mwaniki Gachoka as the only remaining commissioners alongside chairman Eliud Wabukala.
Dr. Maalim and Mrs. Macharia did not disclose the reasons that prompted their surprise resignation.
Dr. Maalim was appointed to the Commission in January, 2016. He was formerly a Member of the Transition Authority and Chair of the Functional Analysis, Assignment and Costing sub-committee of the Authority.
On the other hand, Macharia joined EACC from the Commission for the Implementation of the Constitution, having served as the Director in charge of Management Services: providing strategic support to all Commission programs.
The Commission is required to have five commissioners with the EACC Act stipulating that the chairperson and members of the commission shall be appointed for a single term of six years, and are not eligible for re-appointment.
