A group of civil society organisations has named 20 candidates that, should be barred from contesting in the Kenyan August elections.

The activists say the politicians lack integrity and should therefore be stopped from seeking public office.

Among those named include 12 vying for gubernatorial posts, six MPs, one woman representative and one member of County Assembly.

The politicians are accused of a host of issues including abuse of office, embezzlement, hate speech and violence.

The National Integrity Alliance launched Wednesday the ‘Red Card’ campaign aimed at blocking individuals with questionable integrity issues from running in the August 8 elections.

The list was compiled by Transparency International, Mzalendo Trust, Inuka Trust and the Society for International Development, who form the alliance.

They said they have presented the list to the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) to help in the ongoing vetting of candidates being done by the Chapter Six and Integrity Working Group.

The alliance alleges that the individuals have failed to account for a total of $160 million in public funds and should be considered unsuitable to hold office in accordance to Chapter Six of the Constitution.

'Dirty hands'

“This is historic because it is the first election where issues of integrity in regards to corruption, abuse of office and hate speech are emerging as key election issues.

“It is the beginning of a strong civic movement to remind the institutions concerned that they should not present Kenyans with candidates with dirty hands,” said Houghton Irungu, the Executive Director of the Society for International Development.

However, the effectiveness remains uncertain as only the IEBC can disqualify a candidate on advise by the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) or the courts.

“We are just complementing the work of the concerned institutions and we are not saying that they are incapable of doing their job. However, should they fail, it will be up to the voters who have the biggest responsibility to ensure that those with questionable characters are not elected,” said Samuel Kimeu, the Executive Director of Transparency International Kenya.

The list

Among those in the list include current governors; Dr Evans Kidero (Nairobi), Dr Alfred Mutua (Machakos), Kenneth Lusaka (Bungoma) Okoth Obado (Migori), Cyprian Awiti (Homa Bay), Hassan Joho (Mombasa) and Mwangi wa Iria (Murang’a).

Others are former Devolution Cabinet Secretary, Anne Waiguru; the chairman of the parliamentary committee on security, Asman Kamama; Gatundu South MP, Moses Kuria; and nominated senator, Elizabeth Ongoro.

In March, four Kenyan government agencies constituted themselves into “Chapter Six Working Group on Election Preparedness” with the purpose vetting candidates seeking public office once they have been gazetted by the IEBC.

The agencies include the IEBC, the anti-corruption watchdog EACC, Office of Registrar of Political Parties, the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions, Higher Education Loans Board (HELB), and the Attorney-General’s office.

In 2013, IEBC and EACC failed to vet candidates on the basis of integrity because the Leadership and Integrity Act, 2014, had not been enacted, but critics such as Ndung’u Wainaina, the executive director of the ‎International Centre for Policy and Conflict, say that IEBC had the mandate under the 2010 Constitution to weed out cases that were obvious in the public domain.

Here is the verdict of the alliance on some of the targeted politicians in summary:

1. Anne Waiguru – governor nominee, Kirinyaga County

Ms Waiguru, a former Cabinet Secretary for Devolution, is under investigations for the theft of up to Ksh1.9 billion ($19 million) belonging to the National Youth Service (NYS). Abused, lost or unaccounted for money includes funds meant for slum upgrading of a 3.5-km road in Kibera, Nairobi.

The candidate is accused of giving directives that ensured procurement and payments were centralised at the NYS headquarters, and hence overriding and undermining meaningful oversight by other State departments.

An IPSOS public perception survey released on September 8, 2015 ranked the candidate as third most corrupt leader.

On Wednesday, MPs adopted a Public Accounts Committee report recommending that Ms Waiguru undergo investigations, lifestyle audit and eventually be barred from public office over NYS scandal.

2. Evans Kidero - governor nominee, Nairobi County

Dr Kidero is accused of procurement irregularities of up to Ksh4.6 billion ($46 million) in a plan to launch a metro transportation system. He is also accused of bribery and payment of Ksh200 million ($2 million) to Justice Philip Tunoi and also assaulting Nairobi women representative Rachel Shebesh.

An IPSOS public perception survey released on September 8, 2015 ranked the candidate as the fourth most corrupt leader.

3. Elizabeth Ongoro – MP nominee, Ruaraka (Nairobi County)

Ms Ongoro is accused of instigating violence during the Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) Party nominations, actions that led to her being barred from contesting on the party ticket.

4. Ferdinand Ndung'u Waititu – governor nominee, Kiambu County

Mr Waititu, popularly known as Baba Yao, has already been declared unfit to hold public office by a court in 2015.

Mr Waititu has also been implicated in hate speech.

5. Asman Kamama – MP nominee, Tiaty (Baringo County)

Mr Kamama is accused of being involved in the ongoing clashes.

6. Alfred Ng'ang'a Mutua – governor nominee, Machakos County

Dr Mutua is accused of procurement irregularities in the purchase of 16 Subaru vehicles worth Ksh147 million ($1.47 million) and ambulances worth Ksh145 million ($1.45 million), as well as irregularities in the construction of the Kithimani-Makutano road at Ksh568 million ($5.68 million).

7. Alfred Kiptoo Keter – MP nominee, Nandi Hills (Nandi County)

Mr Keter has been accused of contravening Chapter 6 of the Constitution and the Leadership and Integrity Act by his conduct in public.

He is accused of abuse of office, obstruction and harassment of legitimate authority at the Gilgil weighbridge on January 21, 2015.

8. Cyprian Awiti – governor nominee, Homa Bay County

Mr Awiti is under investigation by the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) concerning the alleged misappropriation of Ksh200 million ($2 million) meant for the Agro City project.

9. Ken Makelo Lusaka – governor nominee, Bungoma County

Mr Lusaka has been under probe over his county’s purchase of 10 "special" and "non-carcinogenic" wheelbarrows at the cost of Ksh100,000 ($1,000) each.

He is also linked to a company that has allegedly won the majority of Bungoma County contracts.

10. Zacharia Okoth Obado – governor nominee, Migori County

Mr Obado is accused of embezzlement and loss of up to Ksh600 million ($6 million) through procurement irregularities, violation of Section 11 of the 2016 Election Offences Act, including the use of and perpetration of violence during the ODM party nominations in April 2017 leading to the destruction of property, loss of lives and intimidation of opponents by issuing threats.

-compiled by Nation.co.ke