New law kicks Lumumba out of KACC

Five top anti-corruption commission officials left office on Monday following the enactment of a new law passed by Parliament last week.It was the end of the road for besieged Kenya Anti-Corruption Commission (KACC) director Patrick Lumumba and his four deputies Dr John Mutonyi (investigations and asset recovery), Mr Pravin Bowry (legal services and asset recovery), Prof Jane Onsongo (education) and Mr Wilson Shollei (finance and administration).President Kibaki signed into law the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission Bill on Sunday.The law replaces KACC with the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC), and demands that the KACC director and his deputies vacate office to allow for new appointments.However, middle level managers remain in office and will be absorbed by the new commission after being vetted.The KACC Advisory Board chairman Okong’o Omogeni announced the departure of the senior officials last evening, noting that the five would be given adequate time to hand over to the board.