The Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) issued a stern warning to state and public officers against branding publicly funded projects and programs with their own names, faces, symbols, or political parties.
In a public notice released on Tuesday, June 23, the watchdog highlighted a growing and problematic trend where politicians regularly plaster their personal identities all over public initiatives. The commission made it clear that using public funds for personal promotion amounts to a direct abuse of office and a blatant misuse of taxpayers’ resources.
“While recognition of public service is important, branding of publicly funded projects and programmes with the identities of political office holders amounts to abuse of office, misuse of public resources and unethical conduct contrary to Articles 10, 73 and 75, 201(d) of the Constitution of Kenya, 2010, Public Finance Management Act, 2012 and the Leadership and Integrity Act, 2012,” read the notice in part.
The EACC pointed out that the law strictly requires all state and public officers to serve the public interest rather than chasing personal or political gain.
The commission reminded officials of their legal obligation to uphold transparency and maintain the highest standards of integrity when managing public funds. To enforce this, the EACC directed all state and public officers to immediately stop using public resources to advance personal, political, or partisan agendas.
“In light of the foregoing, the Commission advises state and public officers to refrain from using public resources to promote personal, political, or partisan interests,” EACC stated.
Moving forward, the commission instructed all public entities to keep public projects entirely neutral. No initiative, whether currently under construction or already completed, should feature the names, faces, portraits, or symbols of serving politicians or political parties.
Instead, the EACC noted that any necessary recognition must focus purely on the responsible government institution and specify whether the funding came from the national or county government.
“The relevant implementing public entities or agencies to ensure that where recognition is necessary, it must only reflect the responsible government entity and clearly indicate whether the project or programme is supported by the National or County Government, without including personal identifiers or portraits,” EACC added.
The anti-graft agency promised to closely monitor compliance across the country, warning that any official who violates these directives will face swift administrative or legal action.
