The Justice and Legal Affairs Committee (JLAC) has directed Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) to independently source for a building that will host their offices including considering the compulsory acquisition of Integrity Centre.
The move by the committee came after it heard how the commission and the Office of Director of Public Prosecution (DPP) have been fighting over who should lead in the acquisition of the said house that was to host the offices of the two entities.
The committee heard how the two have disagreed over who between the two entities should control the Sh 2b that has been set aside to purchase the house.
Chepkonga said that DPP Keriako Tobiko, had at a previous allegedly expressed dissatisfaction with EACC over the acquisition of the said house.
“I realized the last meeting we had over the issue was getting messy as the DPP claimed seniority, arguing that he enjoys more independence than EACC and thus it should be his office leading the process of acquiring the property and that is why I proposed that you go it alone, after all the allocation is under your name.”
Appearing before the committee, EACC Chief Executive Officer Halakhe Waqo confirmed to the committee that they stopped the joint acquisition because they could not agree.
Waqo told the committee that their initial plan to acquire a six-storey office block from the National Social Security Fund (NSSF) flopped after the Fund reviewed its pricing for the building from Sh 1,039,720,575 to Sh 1.36 billion.
He further said that despite them buying a five acre plot in Karen to put up their headquarters, they had established that it would be difficult for many of their clients to access them.
