EACC finds no evidence of criminal culpability by govt in Eurobond saga

The Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) now says there is no evidence of criminal culpability on the part of the government in the Eurobond saga.

In a statement to the newsrooms, Director of Public Prosecutions Keriako Tobiko said that he had received a report from EACC after it concluded investigations into the Eurobond saga.

EACC recommended that the investigations file, as forwarded to the DPP, be closed immediately but recommended that the matter be referred to the Office of the Auditor General for review.

“EACC further recommends that the matter be referred to the Office of the Auditor General being the independent body with the mandate to audit accounts under Article 229 of the Constitution to carry out a special audit on the development projects that were implemented by Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) in the Financial Years 2013/2014 and 2014/2015 in order to ascertain the utilization of the funds and whether there was value for money,” read the statement in part.

The DPP said that the file shall be independently reviewed by his office and a decision thereon made based on the facts, evidence and the law.

The DPP had tasked the EACC and the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) to investigate claims by the Coalition for Reforms and Democracy (CORD) that Ksh 140 billion was lost through dubious dealings.

In December, 2015, CORD issued a 14-day ultimatum to the government and all companies that were involved in transactions in the Eurobond scandal to explain how the money was spent and who are the signatories of the accounts holding the money.

“Kenyans are victims of a single case of theft that is without precedent in our history. As citizens we have a right to a full and proper accounting of all loans borrowed in our names. Our children will be paying for this commercial debt and the thought that parts of it may have been stolen is too outrageous to contemplate,” read the CORD statement.

The opposition, led by Raila Odinga, has been stressing that billions shillings were looted and government’s books regarding the Eurobond were altered.

Odinga said that this was discovered after reviewing the Government Budget Out turn for the Financial Years 2013/14 and 2014/15 published by the National Treasury in two documents namely the Quarterly Economic and Budgetary Review for the Fourth Quarter of the FY 2014/15 dated August 2015.

CORD said that it had also studied the Budget Review and Outlook Paper dated September 2015.

The government has dismissed the allegations as baseless saying that no money was lost and the Eurobond funds were properly utilized.