Fraudsters may occupy next Parliament, warns Matiang’i

Fraudsters and money launderers could overrun the next Parliament due to weak regulations on the amount and source of campaign funds.

Interior Cabinet Secretary Fred Matiang’i yesterday  told a forum of stakeholders in the criminal justice system in Naivasha that fraudsters were taking advantage of lax financial regulations to manipulate the electoral process, something he warned was a major threat to the credibility of the August 9 General Election.

Intelligence reports indicate over 100 known fraudsters and criminals had been cleared by their respective political parties to vie for various political positions. 

Some of them include MPs from Nairobi, Kiambu, Kisii, Trans Nzoia and Uasin Gishu counties.

The CS warned that Kenyans risked laundering criminals of unprecedented standards in the elective offices.

“We could end up laundering criminals of unprecedented standards into our elective offices. We might have over 40 per cent of elected office holders becoming our leaders if we allow all the ‘wash wash’ gangs and other criminals to bribe their way in the coming elections,” he warned.

National Assembly recently amended the Elections Act to delete sections that sought to limit the amount of money that could be spent by political parties and candidates while canvassing various electoral positions.

The CS, however, absolved the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) from blame for the weak regulatory framework on campaign financing, saying an ideal stringent legal regime would need a multi-sectoral approach.

Worrying source

During the Naivasha meeting, Matiang’i also identified abuse of social media as another worrying source of concerns on election security and credibility.

He expressed frustrations with the process of prosecuting suspects in social media abuse cases and cited the easy access to bonds as a major drawback to discouraging the vice. “We have the challenge of multiple bonds issued by our courts. Some of the people who have been arrested are enjoying their eighth, ninth or tenth bond. This, of course, does little to deter others from engaging an army of bloggers to character assassinate others,” he said.

Matiang’i also decried the emergence of digitally driven crimes and the failure to amend relevant laws on intelligence gathering and prosecution, saying it was also giving an escape window to repeat offenders.

Other challenges that the CS identified as risks to a credible poll from a security perspective are a deliberate disregard for laws and regulations especially on political gatherings, the proliferation of hate speech and incitement to ethnic conflicts and balkanisation.

To secure the General Election, the CS said at least 10,000 specialised officers had been mobilised and deployed under a multi-sectoral approach involving the police, prison officers and wardens from the Kenya Wildlife Service and Kenya Forest Services among others.

Matiang’i further notes that more officers and equipment would also be made available to the electoral commission on a need-to basis. 

“The Government would also work closely with  IEBC and other stakeholders to ensure the election was credibly delivered,” he added.

On his part, commission chairman Wafula Chebukati assured Kenyans of free and fair elections, adding that the agency was set for the upcoming polls.

Chebukati said in the coming days, they would hand over the list of aspirants to EACC and other relevant Government agencies for further vetting.

Credible elections

“We learnt our lessons well in 2017 and are all prepared to deliver credible elections free of violence with the will of people set to be represented,” he said.

Weighing in on the controversial issue of the two-thirds gender rule, Chebukati said majority would be determined in the coming weeks when the commission goes through the list of all the names presented by political parties.

The meeting was attended by the Chief Justice Martha Koome, Director of Public Prosecutions Noordin Haji, Inspector General of Police Hilary Mutyambai, Commissioner General of Prisons Brig (Rtd) John Warioba, National Cohesion and Integration Commission chair Rev Samuel Kobia and DCI boss George Kinoti and senior judges.