How EACC will enforce salary stoppage for public officials over secret wealth

Public officers who fail to declare their income, assets and liabilities within the timelines prescribed by law could face salary stoppage, disciplinary proceedings and other administrative sanctions under new mechanisms announced by the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC).

The measures took effect after EACC Chairperson David Oginde and Chief Executive Officer Abdi Mohamud in a Gazette notice dated August 17, 2026, published the Administrative Mechanisms for Implementation of Part IV of the Conflict of Interest Act, 2025.

The mechanisms provide detailed procedures for how public officers will declare their wealth, disclose conflicts of interest and recuse themselves from official decisions where a conflict exists.

One of the most consequential provisions concerns officers who fail to submit mandatory declarations.

Under the new rules, a responsible commission may, in addition to recommending prosecution, take administrative action against an officer who fails to make a declaration or submits it outside the prescribed period.

The measures may include a notice to comply, a warning, stoppage of salary pending compliance, disciplinary proceedings or any other administrative sanction deemed relevant.

In addition, the mechanisms apply to all state and public officers, including those on leave, under disciplinary action, on secondment or undertaking overseas assignments, unless an exemption has been granted by the Attorney General and published in the Gazette.

The new framework also makes clear that wealth declarations are not restricted to assets held within Kenya.

Public officers are required to declare income, assets and liabilities belonging to themselves, their spouses and dependent children below 18 years.

This includes income, assets and liabilities held outside Kenya, as well as jointly held assets.

Where an officer holds an asset jointly with another person or entity, the declaration must state the extent of the officer's interest or share. The obligation also applies where spouses are separated.

The mechanisms state that an officer who is separated from a spouse must still submit a declaration for the separated spouse "in so far as they can reasonably ascertain" the spouse's income, assets and liabilities.

Where both spouses are public officers, each must make a separate declaration for the other, notwithstanding their individual obligations to make declarations to their respective responsible commissions.

The framework establishes three key declaration points including that a public officer taking up a position must make an initial declaration within 30 days of appointment.

Biennial declarations must be made on or before December 31 every other year, with November 1 serving as the statement date.

An officer leaving public service must make a final declaration within 30 days of ceasing to be a public officer.

For elected officers, the requirement is particularly significant. The Gazette states that when the term of an elected state or public officer lapses, the officer must make a final declaration even if they intend to seek re-election.

For appointed officers whose terms can be renewed, a final declaration is required when the term ends unless it is actually renewed.

The mechanisms also spell out what public officers must do when they have a conflict of interest in an official matter.

An officer may declare a conflict before a discussion, decision, debate or vote if they are aware of a real, apparent or potential conflict.

They must also declare it if they only become aware of the conflict while the proceedings are already underway.

Once a conflict is declared, the officer must recuse themselves and the recusal must be recorded in the minutes.

The Gazette provides that recusal may involve physically leaving or not attending the relevant discussion, decision, debate or vote, or refraining from contributing to a discussion or debate on an agenda where the officer has a conflict.

The rules further require the reporting authority to transmit details of the recusal to EACC within 60 days.

The submission must identify the officer, state the particulars of the conflict and explain how the officer recused themselves.

The new framework also establishes a procedure through which members of the public can seek access to information contained in a public officer's declaration.

A responsible commission receiving such a request must notify the officer concerned and give them seven days to make written representations.

The commission must then determine the application and communicate its decision to the applicant within 30 days.

Importantly, access does not automatically mean disclosure of an officer's entire wealth declaration.

The Gazette provides that where access is granted, the responsible commission shall provide only the information requested, and not the contents of the entire declaration.

A person dissatisfied with the commission's decision may seek a review or relevant relief from the courts.

Law enforcement agencies, however, have a separate access mechanism. They may request a declaration in writing, stating the reason for seeking access, with the responsible commission required to grant access within 14 days.

The new mechanisms also pave the way for greater digitisation of the declaration process.

EACC may develop systems allowing public officers to complete and submit declarations online, while responsible commissions may either adopt an EACC-developed modular system, use a centralised multi-tenant platform hosted by EACC, or develop their own compliant systems.

The proposed automated systems may analyse declarations for completeness, identify discrepancies and inconsistencies, and flag possible conflicts of interest.

They may also be interconnected with other databases containing information relevant to analysing declarations.

The framework requires responsible commissions to maintain records showing how many officers were required to declare, how many complied, who failed to comply and what administrative action was taken.

It also requires secure storage and retrieval of declaration information.