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Full in-tray awaits new anti-graft boss

mbarak

New EACC chief executive Twalib Mbarak. PHOTO | JEFF ANGOTE

Twalib Abdallah Mbarak took over as the chief executive of the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) on Monday with the promise of making Kenya a "hostile environment for corrupt individuals."

Mr Mbarak’s experience spans the military, intelligence service and the corporate world.

While approving him for the position, National Assembly’s Justice and Legal Affairs Committee chairman William Cheptumo said : “Mr Mbarak demonstrated knowledge and understanding of the mandate and other pertinent issues relating to the EACC.”

He returns to the institution that he once served, then known as the Kenya Anti-Corruption Commission (KACC) and which EACC succeeded. He worked for the KACC as principal officer in the Undercover Investigations Unit from 2006 to 2010.

But this time he calls the shots and will share in the glory of the success of the organisation and also shoulder any blame that may come.

As the war on corruption intensifies, there is no honeymoon for the experienced 54-year-old as he must get cracking.

Mr Mbarak served as a platoon commander of the Kenya Rifles from 1985 to 1988.

He was as an assistant in the office of the director of military intelligence and later moved to Horn of Africa Military Intelligence Corps. He joined the National Intelligence Service where he worked as head of research and analysis for its external division in 1990.

At NIS, he served as head of its academy’s research and development department where he is credited with shaping training policies for the spies in the country.

After a stint at the anti-corruption body, he joined KenGen as the security and integrity manager where he served until his current appointment.

He joins EACC at a time when major scandals are either under active investigations or are at different levels of prosecution in court, with President Uhuru Kenyatta declaring that there is no sacred cow when it comes to the fight against graft.

Mr Mbarak starts his six-year term in office at a time when top managers at the Kenya Pipeline Company, National Youth Service, National Land Commission, the National Hospital Insurance Fund (NHIF) and the National Cereals and Produce Board (NCPB), among others, are facing corruption charges.

During his vetting before he took office, he promised to work closely with the criminal justice system to deliver.

Mr Mbarak also shares some work background with Director of Public Prosecutions Noordin Hajji who is a former intelligence officer. This relationship is expected to aid the war on corruption.

The new anti-graft czar emphasises proper investigations by giving priority based on value of the subject matter, personalities involved and public interest, asset recovery, and raising public awareness and education.

He told Parliament that he would bring with him the zeal needed to change the perception that the agency is ineffective, adding that he could handle the challenges that come with the job.

It remains to be seen if he will perform better than Mr Halake Waqo who has defended his stint that started in 2013 as a success.

Mr Waqo was the first CEO of the commission and among his first duties was to put up a working system.

The EACC recovered assets worth Sh256 million in the year ended June, 2017 which was a decline compared to Sh700 million recovered in 2016.

For the period that ended June 2018, EACC said it traced 14 illegally acquired public assets estimated at Sh2.3 billion and that the recovery process is under way.

During that period, assets valued at Sh352 million were recovered through court process and out-of-court settlement and 26 applications for preservation of assets estimated at Sh2.6 billion were made.

The commission in its annual report said it carried out 12 proactive covert investigations, averting a possible loss of public funds estimated at Sh4.2 billion.

The period also saw 183 files on corruption and economic crime submitted to the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (ODPP), out of which 135 were recommended for prosecution, 14 for administrative action and 34 for closure.

On the other hand 49 cases were finalised in court resulting in 39 convictions and 10 acquittals.

But Mr Mbarak in-tray is full as he takes over the seat.