Former Kakamega Governor Wycliffe Ambetsa Oparanya has protested Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) move of barring his nomination by writing to the Clerk of the National Assembly to block his appointment as Cabinet Secretary for Cooperatives and MSMEs development scheduled for Sunday 4th August, 2024.
Through his Counsel Danstan Omari, Oparanya on Friday hit back at EACC demanding EACC to retracts it’s communication to the Clerk of the National Assembly dated 29th July, 2024 with immediate effect.
Oparanya has further demanded that EACC ceases and desists from harassing him with unsubstantiated threats of charging him for corruption in a bid to stop him from from offering his services to the people of Kenya without fear or favour.
The former governor further states that failure by EACC to heed to the demands he will institute legal proceedings against EACC jointly and severally as individuals exercising personal interest to the detriment of respect of the rule of law and the Constitution of Kenya.
In the letter dated July 29 EACC had written to the Clerk of the National Assembly highlighting that Oparanya CS nominee for Co-operatives and Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises Development is faced with an alleged graft case.
However, the Director of Public Prosecution had written to EACC withdrawing consent to prosecute Oparanya after his nomination by President William Ruto.
A move that did not augur well with EACC which poked holes the grounds on which the DPP has based his decision not to move ahead with Oparanya’s prosecution.
The letter by the ODPP is dated 8th July but EACC acknowledges receipt on the 25th July 2024.
EACC in a statement to the DPP on Wednesday rejected the DPP’s proposal stating that it read mischief maintaining that the letter by the ODPP was written after Oparanya’s nomination.
