Public officers to declare spouses’ income and assets

If a proposed law that aims to handle conflicts of interest in public office is approved, public officers will be required to disclose all of their wives, their income, and assets together with their dependent children in their wealth disclosure forms.
Investigations into corruption and court cases involving public officials point to a growing pattern in which spouses and children are utilized to conceal income that has been obtained through corruption in order to circumvent the law.
“Public officials are hiding ill-gotten gains under the guise of genuine wealth amassed by their spouses. The occupation of the spouses is disclosed because it reveals their potential sources of money,” according to National Assembly Majority Leader Kimani Ichung’wah, who introduced the bill in the House.
A public officer will be obliged by the new Bill to fill out a document from the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission stating their financial affairs for the year prior to their employment within 30 days of their appointment.
While you are employed, the disclosures must be revised every two years. Public officials are required to report their own income as well as their spouses’ income, separating their personal and company revenue.
In the meantime, financial asset disclosures will include information about cash held in banks and other financial institutions, as well as bonds, stocks, and shares, including those held in cooperatives, private enterprises, and public companies.
The list must also contain both moveable and immovable assets, such as homes, land, leasehold interests, buildings, cars, machinery, boats, power plants, and aircraft.
Public officials are required to declare their wives’ debts, along with the type of debt, the debtor’s name, and any outstanding sums, under debtors.
The description of the outstanding facility, the creditor’s name and address, the location of the security charged against the facility, the total amount of advances, and the applicable outstanding balance are all included in the disclosure for creditors.
Assets and liabilities filed in the names of dependent children will also be disclosed in a similar manner.
“The Bill imposes obligations on public officers to avoid situations that would result in conflict of interest and defines situations that amount to conflict of interest,” reads the bill.
“It forbids public officials from taking part in activities that might interfere with their official duties or the public interest.”
A public officer will be deemed to have a conflict of interest if their personal interests can be reasonably expected to limit or influence their ability to act impartially while carrying out their official duties or if their personal interests could potentially conflict with their public officer responsibilities in the future.
The rule is anticipated to draw attention to the spouses and dependents of public officials in the fight against corruption.
Along with their wives, public officials are increasingly being accused of bribery. Former governors Okoth Obado, Ferdinand Waititu, and Mwangi Wa Iria are among the senior government figures who have been accused with graft with their relatives.
Others include Nicholas Ochiel, a senior assistant director of valuation at the Ministry of Land and Physical Planning, Jeremiah Kinyua, a former supervisor at KRA’s domestic tax department, and Peter Njehia, senior manager for supply chain at Ketraco.
For instance, Mr. Waititu and his wife Susan Ndung’u were both prosecuted in 2019 in connection with a Ksh580 million irregular tender.
Upon the Bill’s passage via both the National Assembly and the Senate, the EACC will be entrusted with enforcing the disclosures as well as other sections of the Bill.
The disclosures and compliance reports submitted by public offices must be open to law enforcement agencies without restriction.
A fine of between Ksh1 million and Ksh3 million or a prison sentence of up to two years may be imposed on public officials who fail to submit the required declarations or who make fraudulent disclosures.