EACC has fired a warning to governors over their decision to deny Nation Media Group any advertisement.
In a letter to Council of Governors chairman Wycliffe Oparanya on Thursday, CEO Twalib Mbarak said such a move is inappropriate.
“…it offends the Constitution and relevant laws that govern acquisition of goods and services by public entities,” he said.
“Any accounting officer or any other public officer who may proceed to implement such unlawful instructions will be held personally liable.”
Mbarak said the council violated article 10 and article 227 (1,3 and 21) when issuing the directive.
The article notes that;
1) The national values and principles of governance in this Article bind all State organs, State officers, public officers and all persons whenever any of them;
(a) applies or interprets this Constitution; (b) enacts, applies or interprets any law; or(c) makes or implements public policy decisions.
Article 227 says that (1) When a State organ or any other public entity contracts for goods or services, it shall do so in accordance with a system that is fair, equitable, transparent, competitive and cost-effective.
“Your letter, therefore, amounts to unlawful instructions and the contemplated action by county government could render all culpable persons liable to the applicable legal consequences including criminal prosecution,” Mbarak said.
The Media Council of Kenya, Media Owners Association and Kenya Editors Guild criticised the Council of Governors following a statement saying it will block adverts to Nation Media Group after it published a story it found unfavourable on corruption.
The Media Owners Association on Wednesday said, “We take great exception to this unilateral and hurried move by the CoG that has the potential of setting a bad precedent in the engagements between public institutions and the media.”
The association said it recognizes that the CoG like any other institution or individual has a right to complain about news content on any media platform, should it feel aggrieved.
The story published by NMG had the headline ‘Eight governors on graft hit list’.
In the story, the publication reported that the anti-graft agency had narrowed down to eight counties in its investigation into corruption.