Naema Celestine 
Brian Mang’oli
A letter addressed to Parliament has been submitted by the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission, the Attorney General, the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions and Transparency International Kenya, in opposition to a proposed bill by Mbeere North’s Member of Parliament.
The proposed bill seeks to amend current anti-corruption legislation but has been deemed retrogressive by the aforementioned bodies. Specifically, the bill aims to expunge two key corruption offenses from current laws. The opponents of the bill argue that this would hinder efforts to enforce accountability among public officials involved in the administration of public resources.
According to the ethics body, public procurement accounts for between 10% to 13% of the Gross Domestic Product, which makes it crucial to protect the significant proportion of public resources expended through public procurement. The ODPP has expressed its opposition to the proposed deletion of section 45(2)b, stating that the amendments would have far-reaching implications that could negatively impact the legal mechanisms established to protect the public from the theft of public resources.
Transparency International has expressed their opposition to the bill, stating that it goes against the principles of public finance, leadership, and integrity standards, as well as the national values and principles of governance, which include accountability, rule of law, good governance, and integrity. The organization believes that imposing criminal sanctions for corruption offences is crucial to hold perpetrators of corruption accountable and act as a deterrent.
