Teary Twalib Mbarak vows to dismantle cartels sabotaging EACC

The Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission CEO nominee Mbarak Twalib on Friday vowed to resign if anyone attempts to interfere with his work.

The former military intelligence officer pledged to ensure that the war on corruption was won promising to deal decisively with both high impact and low impact cases.

Twalib, who was before the Justice and Legal Affairs Committee (JLAC) broke into tears he talked about his mother and the role she played in shaping him and instilling the integrity he upholds today.

“The view that there is a high office that controls the commission won’t exists in my tenure, but if such calls comes from the high office and its likely to compromise my work, I will opt to resign and go home,” Twalib told the committee chaired by Baringo North MP William Cheptumo.

I will not get any orders from anywhere. I will be fair to all citizens.”

Mr. Twalib also promised to conduct an audit of the high voltage files that have been stuck with the commission for ages to ensure the cases are fast tracked.

He noted the fact that the public confidence in the commission was low saying he would revamp the commission.

On the question of supremacy battles between the investigative agencies, Mr. Twalib attributed it to personality clash, saying he had worked with Director of Public Prosecutions Noordin Haji at NIS and would have no issue going forward.

He also pledged to dismantle the corruption network within the commission which has complicated the war against graft and will initiate regular vetting of officers in the commission.

His four point agenda will include utilizing technology to curb corruption, streamlining of investigative circles and collaboration with Asset Recovery Agency to ensure stolen assets are recovered.

Twalib is currently the security and integrity manager at the Kenya electricity generating company KenGen.

He beat 13 other candidates including the current EACC deputy CEO Michael Mubea to top candidates vetted by the Public Service commission.

If approved by Parliament, Mbarak will be replacing outgoing CEO Halakhe Waqo who has served the commission for six years and his term is set to end in the next two months.

He holds a masters of arts degree in armed conflict and peace studies.

The vetting follows President Uhuru Kenyatta’s nomination of Dabar Abdi Maalim, Paul Mwaniki Gachoka, Sophia Lepuchirit and Rose Mghoi Mtambo Macharia as commissioners.

The vetting of the nominees come after Parliament decided to forego its December recess to hold a special sitting to comply with a 21-day timeline required for them to make a decision on the President’s appointments.

The House committee is also required to conduct an approval hearing and submit a report to the House for consideration before December 15, a time during which the MPs should have adjourned for Christmas.