How Much Govt Will Pay You to Expose Corruption?

The Government of Kenya, through the Attorney General’s office, now wants to reward citizens at the forefront of whistleblowing corruption scandals.

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According to the drafted Bill, all whistleblowers are set to earn 10 per cent of the graft amount if successfully recovered.

If the bill is passed, the price will run into millions of shillings.

For instance, the whistleblower in the Ksh5 billion Afya House scandal stands to pocket Ksh500 million if the loot is recovered.

According to the bill which has not yet hit the floor of the National Assembly, the exchequer and donor funds will be the primary payers of the whistleblowers.

“A whistle-blower who makes a disclosure which leads to the arrest and conviction of an accused person shall be rewarded with money from the Fund,” states the Bill .

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This is, however, not the first time such a bill has been proposed. Back in 2015, at the height of the NYS scandal under the then Devolution Cabinet Secretary Anne Waguru, the government had proposed that whistleblowers should earn 15 per cent of the recovered loot or the penalty by the suspects.

It was reportedly discussed between the government and the former US President Barrack Obama during his inaugural visit to the country.

This bill also grants those who exposed corruption immunity against harassment by either their “employer” or “person acting on behalf of an employer” which may occur through demotion, suspension, transfer and/or any other adverse manner.

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Some stakeholders tasked with reviewing the bill are however critical of the reward scheme claiming that some people are naturally greedy and cannot release information for the good of the country unless they are paid.

The Attorney General’s office and that of the Director of Public Prosecutions are among the stakeholders reviewing the proposed bill.

 

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