Kenyan leader appoints new anti-graft chief

Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta on Thursday appointed retired archbishop Eliud Wabukala as the country's new anti-graft chief following the resignation of Philip Kinisu in August 2016 over fraud.

Kenyatta said Wabukala will be the chairman of the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) for a five-year term.

He succeeds Kinisu who was forced to resign following claims that his family firm was a beneficiary of the 7.91-million-U.S.-dollar loot from the National Youth Service (NYS), the country's premier vocational training institute for under-privileged youth involving some of its flagship projects.

Wabukala's appointment follows the approval by the National Assembly and appears in a special issue of the Kenya Gazette published on Jan. 18.

"The Head of State wished Archbishop Wabukala success in his new assignment, noting that he is an eminently qualified and respected leader who will deliver his mandate at the helm of the EACC to the expectation of Kenyans," the statement said.

Kinisu who quit last year said then that the issues bordering on investigations of a firm he is associated rendered his stay in office impractical.

Kinisu who was barely a year in office said he made the decision to ensure that due attention is paid to the fight against corruption and to save the country of resources being spent in deliberations on the matter.

He cited the petition filed in the National Assembly where lawmakers sought that the president forms a tribunal to consider his removal from office as well as a report by the Justice and Legal Affairs Committee of the National Assembly which also recommended his removal from office.

Kinisu's family firm Esaki Ltd supplied goods worth 350,000 U.S. dollars to the NYS over the last three years.

Investigators said there was conflict of interest as Esaki was supplying the NYS while it was under investigation by the anti-graft agency over the 7.91-million-dollar supplies scandal. Endit