Moses Kuria downplays new anti-corruption team, calls President Ruto its ‘prefect’

Former Presidential Economic Advisor Moses Kuria has cast doubt on President William Ruto’s newly formed Multi-Agency Team on War Against Corruption (MAT), warning that its placement under the Executive Office could compromise its independence.

Speaking during Citizen TV’s ‘The Explainer’ show on Tuesday night, Kuria welcomed efforts to curb graft but questioned the framework of the team.

The former Trade Cabinet Secretary said he expected a broader model, cautioning that the team’s leadership under the Executive Office of the President risks undermining checks and balances.

“Any effort that goes to fight this staunch of corruption is welcome, and there is no real wasted effort, so you cannot say that this is not the right way to do and there is no one thing which can be done that can replace all the other mechanisms. I think it is good, but I only have two concerns,” he said.

“One, I would have expected the President to name, not a whole-of-government approach, but a whole-of-society approach. The mere leadership of the team being under the Executive Office of the President would point to some very worrying situation because it is actually a team that can sit together and agree or connive on what to do, there are no external checks and balances and we have seen weaponisation.”

Kuria argued that the agencies involved, including the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) and the Office of the Director of Public Prosecution (ODPP), already have the constitutional mandate to fight corruption, saying the only addition was what he termed a “prefect.”

“Without the Executive, they have the mandate, but now they have been taken under the management of the Executive Office of the President. These are people already with the mandate to fight corruption; there is nothing new; the only new thing is that there is a ‘prefect’ (the Executive), which begs the question of impartiality and independence of the team,” he stated.

“If it were a whole-of-society approach, it would make more sense to have someone else, people who would ensure that the process is serious, sustainable and has an element of fairness.”

He also expressed doubts about the timing of the team’s unveiling, seemingly hinting at a sinister motive by the Executive to control independent bodies.

“The other doubt is the timing because it coming 24 hours after what happened at KCB Karen is suspicious. Parliament and Judiciary are also not represented in that team, and it would have made sense to have that yesterday, then the public proclamation today,” Kuria noted.

“The same happened in Uhuru Kenyatta’s time and I think we are heading to the unsystematic approach again. We need to create a sustainable, long-term institutional process.”

Kuria opined that the proclamation could attract legal challenges, saying, “I expect someone to go to court. I don’t think it was well thought out through.”

President Ruto last week accused Members of Parliament of breeding corruption in demanding bribes from Cabinet Secretaries and Governors, a statement that has seemingly created a clash between the Executive and the Legislature.