Kenya Power now turns to whistle-blowers to nab corrupt officials

On Wednesday, Kenya Power invited bids for services of whistle-blowers as it moves to fight graft at the state power distributor.
The winning bidder must enable whistle-blowers report issues of corruption in a highly secure as well as anonymous manner.
The bidding comes in the wake of several graft cases facing the state corporation senior officials.

Kenya Power and Lighting Company, commonly referred to as Kenya Power, wants to nab corrupt officials red-handed and watch the whole thing blow up in their faces.

To achieve that, the power utility firm is actively seeking services of whistle-blowers as it moves to fight graft at the electricity distributor.

Kenya Power and Lighting Company. ece-auto-gen

On Wednesday, Kenya Power invited bids for the unique services in a public tender, adding that the winning bidder must enable whistle-blowers report issues of corruption in a highly secure as well as anonymous manner.

“To embed a strong ethical culture, Kenya Power is putting in place an online anonymous reporting mechanism,” acting CEO Jared Othieno said on Wednesday.

“The professional firm will record, report, interpret, analyse and store data on unethical practices,” he added

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Acting Kenya Power MD & CEO Eng Jared Othieno at a past media briefing event. (Kenya Power) Pulse Live Kenya

The bidding comes in the wake of several graft cases facing the state corporation senior officials.

The suspended chief executive of Kenya Power, his immediate predecessor and 10 other senior managers at the company are currently battling legal charges. On Monday the officials were charged in court with conspiracy to commit an economic crime and abuse of office, according to court papers.

Kenya Power suspended chief executive officer, Ken Tarus Former Kenya Power Managing Director Ken Tarus Pulse Live Kenya

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CEO Ken Tarus, his predecessor, Ben Chumo, and the other executives, however, pleaded not guilty to the charges. Mr Tarus and his fellow executives at Kenya Power are accused of entering a contract with a private firm for the supply of transformers, which turned out to be faulty.

According to the global Association of Certified Fraud Examiners, around 40 percent of all detected occupational fraud cases are identified by whistleblowers. Corporate governance experts say whistleblowing is one of the most effective ways of exposing malfeasance within an organisation.