Kenya plans to grant thieves amnesty
NAIROBI (TrustLaw) – The Kenyan government plans to introduce an amnesty bill that will help it to recover billions of shillings in stolen assets.
Thieves will be given amnesty if they make full disclosure of the economic crime and return the stolen property or money to those affected, plus interest.
“Amnesty avoids endless investigations, saving time, energy and resources and assists in recovery from foreign jurisdictions,” wrote the Kenya Anti-Corruption Authority’s (KACC) Pravin Bowry, in Wednesday’s The Standard newspaper.
Bowry added the new policy will help KACC identify other players involved in corruption cartels.
The new regulations were published by the government earlier this month.
Graft has tarnished east Africa’s biggest economy for decades, stifling growth and discouraging investors. There is growing frustration that senior officials get away with flagrant theft.
The UK government’s move to extradite two senior officials to face charges of laundering $10 million via the island of Jersey has generated great excitement and dominated the front pages for days.
In a recent blog, Britain’s ambassador to Kenya, Rob McCaire wrote:
“Where we have evidence of illegally gained assets or money in the UK, we will act: We can freeze assets, and even seize them and return them to the country concerned, as we have done with Nigeria and other countries. But we need the cooperation of Kenyan authorities to do so.”
KACC said conservative estimates show corruption takes up to 35 percent of Kenya’s gross domestic product, or up to 55 percent if you include wastage.
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