Chaos in the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) – with the removal of board members and allegations over property management – do not bode well for a concerted response to the terror threats to Kenya. The security sector has been dogged by grand and petty corruption over the course of the past three governments. As Menas Associates’ East Africa Politics & Security highlighted this week, recent developments provide little hope that things will change soon and thus improve the security outlook for the country.

President Uhuru Kenyatta suspended EACC chairperson Mumo Matemu and vice-chairperson Irene Keino on 23 April. This followed an inquiry by the National Assembly’s Justice and Constitutional Affairs Committee. The two members have been accused of deliberately hindering investigations into Kenya’s notorious Anglo Leasing scandal and the Geothermal Development Company.

Meanwhile, the EACC Integrity House office itself on Valley Road, Nairobi, is now the subject of an emerging corruption scandal. The property was being held in trust by the Deposit Protection Fund following the collapse of Trust Bank which was owed outstanding loans by its owners. However, national newspaper The Daily Nation alleges that the building was sold in 2013 for US$4 million. At the time the property had an estimated market value of double that amount. Worse still, it is alleged that before the sale rent from EACC was being paid into an account held by the previous owners of the building and not the Deposit Protection Fund.

Corruption has been at the centre of each botched terror response by the security services, ranging from looting soldiers in Westgate, to the private use of a Special Forces helicopter that delayed the authorities’ response to the Garissa University attack by hours. Underlying all of this is the long-running Anglo Leasing scandal, which centred on the procurement of security equipment. The latter has been a symbol of Kenya’s corruption for well over a decade, and still remains unresolved.

President Kenyatta has staked his credibility on addressing the corruption issue which Kenyan’s are tired of. He gave the EACC and other agencies 60 days from his State of the Nation address in March to prepare cases against over 170 public officials and representatives who had been alleged to be involved in malpractice (see East Africa Politics & Security – 31.03.15). While the likelihood of this going ahead in the given timeframe of two months was always slim, it is hard to see how any progress can be made now with the chaos which is affecting the leadership of the EACC. This means that resolving the issues which have weakened the country’s security services is going to be all the more difficult at a time when Kenya needs to be able to effectively respond to the increased threat of Al-Shabaab.