Francesco Checchi

𝗘𝗔𝗖𝗖 𝗔𝗡𝗗 𝗨𝗡𝗢𝗗𝗖 𝗦𝗧𝗥𝗘𝗡𝗚𝗧𝗛𝗘𝗡 𝗣𝗔𝗥𝗧𝗡𝗘𝗥𝗦𝗛𝗜𝗣 𝗜𝗡 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗙𝗜𝗚𝗛𝗧 𝗔𝗚𝗔𝗜𝗡𝗦𝗧 𝗖𝗢𝗥𝗥𝗨𝗣𝗧𝗜𝗢𝗡 The Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) Chief Executive Officer, Mr Abdi Mohamud, on October 16 2026 held a high-level bilateral meeting with the Executive Director of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), Dr. Monica Juma, at the United Nations Office in Vienna, to discuss enhanced cooperation in combating corruption and transnational economic crime. The discussions focused on strengthening law enforcement capacity, advancing the application of forensic technology, and facilitating effective mutual legal assistance across Eastern Africa. These areas are central to addressing the cross-border nature of corruption and safeguarding public resources. The CEO acknowledged UNODC’s continued support to EACC through the Programme for Legal Empowerment and Aid Delivery in Kenya (PLEAD) and the UNODC Africa Hub based in Nairobi. He underscored the value of sustained technical cooperation and joint capacity-building initiatives in strengthening institutional effectiveness. Mr. Mohamud also briefed the Executive Director on the establishment of the Africa Anti-Corruption Studies and Research Centre (CEREAC) in Nairobi and sought UNODC’s support for the Centre’s work in advancing anti-corruption research, policy development and capacity building. The engagement provided an opportunity to explore further cooperation, drawing on UNODC’s expertise and international anti-corruption tools to strengthen national and regional responses to corruption and economic crime. EACC remains committed to strategic partnerships that advance accountability, protect public resources and uphold the rule of law. @Monica_Juma_ @UNODCEastAfrica

𝗘𝗔𝗖𝗖 𝗖𝗔𝗟𝗟𝗦 𝗙𝗢𝗥 𝗔𝗖𝗖𝗢𝗨𝗡𝗧𝗔𝗕𝗜𝗟𝗜𝗧𝗬 𝗜𝗡 𝗙𝗜𝗚𝗛𝗧 𝗔𝗚𝗔𝗜𝗡𝗦𝗧 𝗖𝗢𝗥𝗥𝗨𝗣𝗧𝗜𝗢𝗡 𝗔𝗧 𝗣𝗢𝗥𝗧 𝗢𝗙 𝗠𝗢𝗠𝗕𝗔𝗦𝗔 The Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) has called for stronger accountability and institutional safeguards to combat corruption at the Port of Mombasa. Speaking during a high-level stakeholder meeting, EACC Commissioner,Mr John Ogallo said closing loopholes in port operations would not be sufficient without holding public officers accountable for their actions. He emphasised that safeguarding the port required robust oversight mechanisms, integrity and a culture in which misconduct is addressed decisively. Chief of Staff and Head of the Public Service, Mr Felix Koskei underscored the importance of strengthening controls as cargo volumes passing through the port continue to grow. He noted that efficient and transparent port operations were critical to protecting public revenue, facilitating legitimate trade and helping to ease the cost of living. UNODC Eastern Africa, Team Lead for the Anti-Corruption Hub Mr Francesco Chechi, highlighted the importance of coordinated action and international cooperation in tackling corruption and financial crime at strategic trade gateways. He noted that weaknesses in oversight and gaps in coordination can create opportunities for corrupt practices and allow criminal networks to exploit trade and financial systems. Strengthening collaboration among relevant institutions, he said, is essential to closing these gaps, improving the detection of illicit activities and safeguarding the integrity of port operations. Chechi also underscored the importance of complementing enforcement with preventive measures, including stronger institutional safeguards, information sharing and capacity building. These efforts can help institutions identify corruption risks early, curb illicit financial flows and protect legitimate businesses from unfair competition. As a vital gateway for Kenya and the wider East African region, the Port of Mombasa plays a central role in trade and economic growth. Strengthening accountability and transparency in its operations is essential to protecting public resources, supporting legitimate businesses and maintaining confidence in the country's trade systems.

𝗛𝗜𝗚𝗛 𝗖𝗢𝗨𝗥𝗧 𝗨𝗣𝗛𝗢𝗟𝗗𝗦 𝗪𝗔𝗜𝗧𝗜𝗧𝗨’𝗦 𝗖𝗢𝗡𝗩𝗜𝗖𝗧𝗜𝗢𝗡, 𝗥𝗘𝗜𝗡𝗦𝗧𝗔𝗧𝗘𝗦 𝗠𝗢𝗡𝗘𝗬 𝗟𝗔𝗨𝗡𝗗𝗘𝗥𝗜𝗡𝗚 𝗖𝗛𝗔𝗥𝗚𝗘𝗦 The Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) 𝘄𝗲𝗹𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗲𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗛𝗶𝗴𝗵 𝗖𝗼𝘂𝗿𝘁’𝘀 𝗱𝗲𝗰𝗶𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝘁𝗼 𝘂𝗽𝗵𝗼𝗹𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘃𝗶𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘀𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲 of former Kiambu County Governor Ferdinand Waititu Babayao, his wife and their associates in an appeal against their conviction for corruption-related offences. In her judgment delivered on October 14 2026, 𝗟𝗮𝗱𝘆 𝗝𝘂𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗰𝗲 𝗥𝗼𝘀𝗲 𝗢𝘂𝗴𝗼 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗔𝗻𝘁𝗶-𝗖𝗼𝗿𝗿𝘂𝗽𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗘𝗰𝗼𝗻𝗼𝗺𝗶𝗰 𝗖𝗿𝗶𝗺𝗲𝘀 Court upheld the convictions of 𝗪𝗮𝗶𝘁𝗶𝘁𝘂, 𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝘄𝗶𝗳𝗲, 𝗦𝘂𝘀𝗮𝗻 𝗪𝗮𝗻𝗴𝗮𝗿𝗶 𝗡𝗱𝘂𝗻𝗴𝘂; former Kiambu County Chief Officer for Roads, Transport, Public Works and Utilities 𝗟𝘂𝗸𝗮 𝗠𝘄𝗮𝗻𝗴𝗶 𝗪𝗮𝗵𝗶𝗻𝘆𝗮 ; and 𝗖𝗵𝗮𝗿𝗹𝗲𝘀 𝗖𝗵𝗲𝗴𝗲 𝗠𝗯𝘂𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗮, a director of Testimony Enterprises Limited. The Commission particularly 𝗹𝗮𝘂𝗱𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗰𝗼𝘂𝗿𝘁’𝘀 𝗱𝗲𝗰𝗶𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝘁𝗼 𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗹𝗼𝘄𝗲𝗿 𝗰𝗼𝘂𝗿𝘁’𝘀 𝗮𝗰𝗾𝘂𝗶𝘁𝘁𝗮𝗹 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗮𝗰𝗰𝘂𝘀𝗲𝗱 𝗽𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗼𝗻𝘀 𝗼𝗻 𝗺𝗼𝗻𝗲𝘆 𝗹𝗮𝘂𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗿𝗴𝗲𝘀, a key element in the Commission’s investigations in an attempt to follow the money. The case arose from investigations launched in 2019 following allegations that the 𝗖𝗼𝘂𝗻𝘁𝘆 𝗚𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗿𝗻𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗼𝗳 𝗞𝗶𝗮𝗺𝗯𝘂 𝗵𝗮𝗱 𝗶𝗿𝗿𝗲𝗴𝘂𝗹𝗮𝗿𝗹𝘆 𝗮𝘄𝗮𝗿𝗱𝗲𝗱 𝗧𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗺𝗼𝗻𝘆 𝗘𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗽𝗿𝗶𝘀𝗲𝘀 𝗟𝗶𝗺𝗶𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝗮 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗿𝗮𝗰𝘁 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝘁𝗵 𝗞𝗲𝘀𝟱𝟴𝟴 𝗺𝗶𝗹𝗹𝗶𝗼𝗻 to upgrade gravel roads to bitumen standards in Thika, Limuru, Gatundu North, Juja and Ruiru sub-counties during the 2017/2018 financial year. 𝗪𝗮𝗶𝘁𝗶𝘁𝘂 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗰𝗼-𝗮𝗰𝗰𝘂𝘀𝗲𝗱 𝘄𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘃𝗶𝗰𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝗼𝗻 𝗙𝗲𝗯𝗿𝘂𝗮𝗿𝘆 𝟭𝟮, 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟱, of offences including conflict of interest, dealing with suspicious property, abuse of office, fraudulent procurement practices and wilful failure to comply with procurement laws and regulations. In a separate unexplained wealth case filed by the Commission, 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗔𝗻𝘁𝗶-𝗖𝗼𝗿𝗿𝘂𝗽𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗖𝗼𝘂𝗿𝘁 𝗶𝗻 𝗗𝗲𝗰𝗲𝗺𝗯𝗲𝗿 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟱 𝗼𝗿𝗱𝗲𝗿𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗳𝗲𝗶𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝗮𝘀𝘀𝗲𝘁𝘀 𝘃𝗮𝗹𝘂𝗲𝗱 𝗮𝘁 𝗮𝗽𝗽𝗿𝗼𝘅𝗶𝗺𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗹𝘆 𝗞𝗲𝘀𝟭𝟯𝟭.𝟮 𝗺𝗶𝗹𝗹𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗸𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗼 𝗪𝗮𝗶𝘁𝗶𝘁𝘂 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗮𝘀𝘀𝗼𝗰𝗶𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝗽𝗮𝗿𝘁𝗶𝗲𝘀. The assets included properties in Thindigua valued at about Kes64 million, a Caterpillar machine worth approximately Kes11 million, two motor vehicles, property associated with Susan Wangari Ndungu valued at about Kes3 million, and property associated with Saika Two Estate Developers Limited valued at approximately Kes52 million. 𝗘𝗔𝗖𝗖 𝗶𝘀 𝗮𝗹𝘀𝗼 𝗽𝘂𝗿𝘀𝘂𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗮 𝘀𝗲𝗽𝗮𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝗰𝗶𝘃𝗶𝗹 𝗰𝗮𝘀𝗲 𝘀𝗲𝗲𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗼 𝗿𝗲𝗰𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗿 𝗞𝗲𝘀𝟭𝟳𝟬 𝗺𝗶𝗹𝗹𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗳𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝗪𝗮𝗶𝘁𝗶𝘁𝘂 and Testimony Enterprises Limited as alleged proceeds of corruption. The case is pending determination. The matter will proceed for mitigation and 𝘀𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗼𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗺𝗼𝗻𝗲𝘆 𝗹𝗮𝘂𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗿𝗴𝗲𝘀 𝗼𝗻 𝗢𝗰𝘁𝗼𝗯𝗲𝗿 𝟭𝟵, 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟲, 𝗮𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗔𝗻𝘁𝗶-𝗖𝗼𝗿𝗿𝘂𝗽𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗠𝗮𝗴𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗲’𝘀 𝗖𝗼𝘂𝗿𝘁.

𝗘𝗔𝗖𝗖 𝗔𝗥𝗥𝗘𝗦𝗧𝗦 𝗦𝗜𝗫 𝗙𝗢𝗥𝗠𝗘𝗥 𝗦𝗣𝗢𝗥𝗧𝗦 𝗢𝗙𝗙𝗜𝗖𝗜𝗔𝗟𝗦 𝗔𝗡𝗗 𝗖𝗢𝗡𝗧𝗥𝗔𝗖𝗧𝗢𝗥𝗦 𝗢𝗩𝗘𝗥 𝗖𝗛𝗔𝗡 𝟮𝟬𝟭𝟴 𝗧𝗘𝗡𝗗𝗘𝗥

Abdi Mohamud, CEO EACC: A particularly significant milestone of this assembly will be the official launch of the anti-corruption studies and research centre in Africa which will be hosted here in Nairobi. The centre represents a major step forward in strengthening evidence-based anti-corruption policy, research, capacity building and knowledge sharing across our continent #UnitedAgainstCorruption