APRM • SECOND COUNTRY REVIEW REPORT OF THE REPUBLIC OF KENYA 374. Poor Co-ordination. The various institutions/organizations are poorly coordinated making follow-through of corruption cases to a final determination a difficult task and timeconsuming process. While the original Ethics and Anti-Corruption Bill and the Leadership and Integrity Bill initially set a higher threshold for the conduct of state/public officers in accordance with the spirit of the constitution, the subsequent Parliamentary Acts passed to implement them were watered down thereby reducing their effectiveness significantly. 375. Weak vetting Mechanism. The new process of appointing state and public officers and the concomitant vetting mechanism turned out to be elusive with various integrity challenges facing the appointing authorities. Difficulties are encountered in initiating lifestyle audits, establishing authenticity of background checks of prospective appointees/employees (especially those residing outside the country) and monitoring state officers’ bank accounts opened and operated abroad. 376. Conflict of Interest. There is the unresolved issue of conflict of interest. For example, in relation to state officers engaged in other duties in alternative employment such as those who are directors of private companies or are running the companies through proxies. 377. Slow Judicial Process. It is generally acknowledged that the country’s judicial process is very slow, resulting in many cases going without hearing for a very long period of time. This impairs the wheel of justice and gives corrupt public officers a favourable comfort zone. Challenges in fighting money laundering 378. The main challenge in combating money laundering is inadequate administrative capacity, including limited capacity of financial institutions and other relevant bodies to detect, investigate and prosecute money laundering. 379. Other challenges include: (i) Kenya’s location and porous borders which make the country an important transit point for drug trafficking and money laundering; (ii) a lack of robust co-operation among countries in the fight against money laundering; (iii) a limited capacity in the financial institutions and relevant bodies to detect, investigate and prosecute money laundering; and (iv) inadequate public sensitization about the dangers and perils of money laundering. 380. The perception is that Government statements about the willingness and commitment to combat corruption have fallen far short of actual action. The elaborate tool-kit, which has been put in place (in terms of institutions, structures and legal provisions), does not seem to be working effectively. | 170 |