The anti-graft body has the power to hold public officials individually liable and surcharge them, for any loss of public funds occasioned by their illegal or irregular actions.
In a landmark judgment delivered by Justice Esther Maina on February 9, the High Court said the powers of the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) to demand compensation from public officers whose illegal actions cause loss or damage to public property.
This arose from a case filed in the High Court by the Chief Executive Officer of the Higher Education Loans Board (HELB) Charles Ringera challenging the decision of EACC to hold him personally liable for loss of Sh491,852 arising from his actions that EACC found to have been outside the law.
In March 2019, Ringera irregularly approved the salary increase of Monari from Sh218,791.13 to Sh253,923.43 which translates to Sh35, 132.30 per month.
The said review took effect in October 2019 and the EACC established that between that period and November 2020 when Monari exited HELB, he cumulatively drew Sh491,852.30 irregularly awarded to him by the CEO.
EACC had issued a demand notice surcharging him and ordering that he compensates HELB by paying the amount, following investigations into allegations of abuse of office against him.
Ringera had directed the HELB Chief Finance Officer and the Finance Manager to effect irregular salary increments to Geoffrey Monari, the Chief Operations Officer, without the approval of the HELB Board.
EACC investigated the matter and found him culpable but he was aggrieved by the decision and moved to High Court seeking to quash the decision, arguing that EACC does not have such powers.
In its decision, the High Court held that in protecting public property, the constitutional and statutory powers of EACC extend to securing compensation for the loss of public property from culpable public officers.