Tobiko opposes prosecution powers for EACC

Director of Public Prosecution (DPP) Keriako Tobiko on Monday opposed plans to strengthen the anti-corruption watchdog with prosecutorial powers, saying it would sound a death knell to his office.

The Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) has in the past called for more powers to prosecute suspects, saying it would bolster its operations.

Mr Tobiko made the remarks when he appeared before the Justice and Legal Affairs Committee, where he also lamented a move by Treasury to slash its budget for the 2016/17 financial year by more than Sh1.6 billion.

“Any move to give prosecutorial powers to the EACC would end up killing the office of the DPP. My view is for the two offices to continue existing independently as we have drastically improved our working relations,” he said.

The DPP said his office had cut the time it took to review investigations files forwarded by the EACC to 14 days and either recommend prosecutions or give its reservations pointing gaps that need to be filled, or dismiss recommendations by the commission altogether.

He called the anti-corruption body to make use of powers they have to be more efficient, instead of seeking more responsibilities, which are best handled independently by another agency.

ALREADY OVERWHELMED
Mr Tobiko was of the view that the EACC was already overwhelmed by its wide mandate including advocacy, preventative mechanisms, asset recovery and enforcement of the code of conduct and Chapter 6 of the Constitution on leadership and integrity

“Our position is not to overload EACC and then go ahead to create a huge monster,” he said.

According to the top prosecutor, merging investigations and prosecutions under one body was a recipe for disaster, since economic crimes were highly political.

He added that having the entities remain separate would create the necessary checks and balances.