Anti-Graft Commissioners Want Chairman Out

Vice Chair Irene Keino and Prof. Jane Osongo have petitioned President Uhuru Kenyatta to remove Mumo Matemo as the chairperson of the anti-graft body.

In a petition, in possession by Citizen Television, the two commissioners want President Kenyatta to intervene and send Matemo home on ground of alleged incompetence and non-performance.

Statehouse spokesperson Manoah Esipisu says the petition is being studied by the Head of State.

“There has been a petition in terms of the role of the head of that commission. Since we receive hundreds of them, our work is to verify that the issues raised are legitimate or not,” said Esipisu.

The petition, signed on September 9th, 2014, cites 21 reasons that the commissioners attribute to Matemu’s alleged incompetence, lack of desire to fight corruption and lack of vision for the anti-graft body.

 Key among their grievances, is a claim that Mr. Matemu “severally interferes with operational matters and the motive is sinister. For instance, he requests for certain investigation files through unofficial methods to request for a status on a file through the Chief Executive Officer.”

DIVIDE AND RULE

The two commissioners further claim that Matemu “has an insecure personality where he thinks everybody is after his seat (chairperson) thus the need to go on a negative smear campaign on all senior staff and fellow commissioners.”

They further alleged “his leadership style is ‘divide and rule’ whereby he has a different personal relationship with fellow commissioners and senior staff which creates disunity and infighting”

 They have also accused the chairperson of “declaring in public that he joined the commission to make money and not fight corruption”.

The EACC Act states that the office of the chairperson shall become vacant if the office holder dies, resigns in writing to the President, is convicted of a felony and sentenced to imprisonment, absent from three consecutive meetings without good cause or removed under circumstances spelt out in article 251 of the constitution.

This comes even as the commission is fighting to restore its confidence in the public eye.

By Jacky Maribe