Regional unity key to beating corruption networks, says Prime CS Musalia Mudavadi
Prime Cabinet Secretary, Mr. Musalia Mudavadi
23:04:2026: Prime Cabinet Secretary (PCS) H. E. Musalia Mudavadi has called for enhanced regional and international cooperation in tackling cross-border corruption and illicit financial flows.
Speaking during the official opening of the Regional Anti-Corruption Authorities Conference in Nairobi, the PCS, who also serves as Cabinet Secretary for Foreign and Diaspora Affairs, emphasized the interconnected nature of modern corruption networks.
“We are bound together by trade, borders, financial systems, and shared vulnerabilities. When corruption finds a loophole in one jurisdiction, it does not remain there. It adapts, moves, and expands. That is why our response must be regional, coordinated, and faster than the networks we are confronting,” he said.
The conference, convened under the theme “Unmasking Beneficial Ownership in the Fight Against Corruption and Recovery of Assets,” has brought together anti-graft agencies from eight East African countries: Uganda, Ethiopia, Rwanda, Tanzania, Djibouti, South Sudan, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo under the umbrella of the Eastern Africa Association of Anti-Corruption Authorities (EAAACA).
Mudavadi acknowledged the significant toll corruption takes on economies, noting a near-linear relationship between a country’s corruption levels and its per capita income. Regions that effectively control corruption, he observed, tend to achieve higher and more stable income levels, while those that fail remain locked in low-value economic cycles.
Despite ongoing challenges, he pointed to encouraging progress. According to the 2024/2025 report by the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission, the Commission finalized and forwarded 175 investigation files on corruption, economic crimes, and ethical breaches to the Director of Public Prosecutions. It also secured 33 convictions, traced Kes22.9 billion in illegally acquired and unexplained assets, recovered Kes3.4 billion, and prevented the loss of Kes16.5 billion through proactive investigations.
EAAACA Vice President and EACC Chief Executive Officer Mr. Abdi A. Mohamud highlighted strides made in asset recovery, citing several properties reclaimed and repurposed for public benefit. These include land belonging to the Meteorological Department in Nairobi’s Industrial Area, now hosting 13,264 affordable housing units, as well as Hobley Estate and Buxton in Mombasa, earmarked for 720 social housing units.
He further cited the recovery of Karura Forest land valued at approximately Kes2.8 billion and Chale Island in Kwale County, noting their contribution to environmental conservation, preservation of cultural heritage, and growth of the blue economy.
The CEO called for strengthened transnational collaboration, including joint investigations and shared capacity-building programmes to harmonize investigative and prosecutorial standards across the region.
The conference is set to conclude on Friday, April 24.
