This archive report was first published on 8 October 2019.
On October 8, 2019, a group of Kenyan legislators joined forces to reject a new bill that proposed tough penalties for corruption suspects.
The proposed bill, dubbed 'Anti-Corruption and Economic Crimes Bill 2019,' aimed to introduce a minimum jail term of 10 years for corruption convicts and a minimum fine of Ksh. 1 million.
However, the MPs, led by the National Assembly's Justice and Legal Affairs committee, expressed concerns that the bill would tie the hands of judges when handing down sentences.
According to Hon. Otiende Amollo, a lawyer and one of the opposing legislators, the bill lacked a legal wording that would make it eligible to be passed into law.
Amollo advised the bill's sponsor, Ndindi Nyoro, to revise the bill and table it again, suggesting that the wording 'not less than' was not legal language allowed by the courts.
Kenya is ranked among the most corrupt nations, with a corruption index of 28 points as of 2018.
