STATEMENT BY HON KI RAITU MURUNGI, MP, MINISTER FOR JUSTICE
AND CONSTITUTIONAL AFFAIRS AND HEAD OF DELEGATION AT THE HIGH LEVEL POLITICAL SIGNING CONFERENCE OF THE UN CONVENTIONAGAINST CORRUPTION IN MERIDA,
MEXICO - 9-11TH DECEMBER, 2003 Mr. President, Distinguished Delegates, Ladies and Gentlemen, It is a great honor and privilege for my delegation to join
other delegations in this beautiful city of Mr. President, Our presence at this historic gathering is an expression of
our firm commitment and determination to strengthen our common endeavors
in the fight against corruption in all its forms and manifestations
and at all levels. The realization of the aims and objectives of this remarkable
international instrument has a special relevance to our struggle against
corruption in Mr. President, It is not by accident that Indeed, consistent with our election pledge, the Government
of President Mwai Kibaki
has placed the fight against corruption at the top of its priorities. Immediately upon being sworn in as the 3rd President of the
In addition, the Government enacted two laws, which contain
an elaborate institutional legal and regulatory framework for the fight
against corruption. These are the Anti-Corruption and Economic Crimes
Act and the Public Officer Ethics Act, both of 2003. The first Act expands the definition of corruption and economic
crime to include various forms of abuse of office, conflict of interest,
misappropriation, theft and plunder of public resources. It also establishes
a powerful anti-corruption commission with investigative, prevention,
public education and asset recovery functions. The second Act legislates mandatory separate codes of conduct
for all public officers, including members of Parliament, the Judiciary,
Civil Service, Co-operative societies, Local
Government and the public corporations sector. The codes of conduct,
which are legally enforceable, prohibit corruption, conflict of interest,
ethnicity, and nepotism in the public service. These two pieces of legislation will provide a sound foundation
for the implementation of the provisions of this Convention, when it
enters into force. The Government has carried out a "'radical surgery"
of the Judiciary, in which, 6 out of 11 judges of the Court of Appeal,
17 out of 36 High Court judges and 82 out of 252 magistrates have been
suspended on allegations of corruption. This is the most far reaching
reform of the Judiciary in the history of the Commonwealth. The Government is aware that corruption is a complex moral,
social, political and economic problem, which transcends the limits
of law, crime and punishment. It is fundamentally a question of personal
morality, ethics and culture. To attack the social and cultural roots of corruption, the
Government with the support of the World Bank, Transparency International,
religious organizations, the private sector and civil society organizations,
have launched a massive 5-year National Campaign Against Corruption.
The Campaign, is intended to be a multi-sect
oral public awareness campaign similar to our national campaign against
HIV/AIDS. Mr. President, Distinguished Delegates, We are happy that the Convention provides a framework for stronger
co-operation between states to prevent, 'detect, search and return the
proceeds of corruption. We hope to use this provision to recover billions
of Kenyan shillings stolen from our country and hidden in off-shore
accounts. The fight against corruption is a collaborative process requiring
intervention, support and assistance of others. We are working in partnership
with the African Parliamentarian Network Against
Corruption (APNAC) and the Global Organisation
of Parliamentarians Against Corruption - (GOPAC). We intend to play
a key role to support this Convention by promoting the ratification
of the African Union (AU) Convention Against
Corruption. Mr. President, for us in Mr. President, Fellow Delegates, I THANK YOU. |