The Kenyan Governors want to be treated differently from other criminals quoting their superiority as the reason behind their bold request. They have expressed their heavy disappointment in the manner in which Kiambu Governor Ferdinand Waititu was arrested by the EACC recently.
He was nabbed over the irregular award of tenders in Kiambu County government worth Sh 588 million with detectives requesting banks to provide details of 50 accounts that have been fingered for suspect deposits.
The arrested was done at his residence in Nairobi hours after detectives from the Ethics and Anti-corruption Commission (EACC) raided his Runda and Garden Estate homes.
Through their umbrella body, Council of Governors (CoG), the county chiefs say that whereas they do not condone graft, they do not deserve to be treated “guilty as charged even before being subjected to courts of law.”
CoG Chairman Mr Wycliffe Oparanya said they were committed to the fight against corruption but maintained they must be treated with decorum by the crime busters by virtue of the authority of their offices.
“We don’t condone corruption and we are ready to fight it…but the way Waititu was arrested, being frog matched – was so inhuman especially someone of his stature,” Mr Oparanya told reporters.
“You frog match a governor in front of his constituents and family? It is not fair. You are treating a whole governor as a criminal yet he has not been proved guilty. You are proving him guilty even before he is charged. I find that so bad and they should treat us with some dignity, ” Oparanya stated.
He went on: “Why can’t they have decency? Just summon the Governor, tell him you wish to go to his house for a search instead of all these dramas in front of the media.”
He took issue with the anti-graft sleuths over their persistent use of the media for live coverage of such arrests.
“Why do they want to do their work in front of the media? That is embarrassment targeted on the county chiefs. There must be dignity because human right is guaranteed in the Constitution,” added Mr Oparanya.