House approves whistleblowers bill

Whistle-blowers would soon be able to make lawful disclosures of classified information on graft-related crimes without retribution after the Chamber of Deputies on Wednesday passed the long awaited bill to protect such people.A whistleblower is a person who informs the public or someone in authority about alleged dishonest or illegal activities or misconduct occurring in a government department, a public or private organisation, or a company. The alleged misconduct may be classified in many ways; for example, a violation of a law, rule, regulation and/or a direct threat to public interest, such as fraud, health/safety violations, and corruption. Whistleblowers may make their allegations internally or externally. The bill states that any entity that receives disclosures must establish reliable mechanisms designed to protect whistleblowers, including their secret reception and the filing of disclosures by using a security code. According to the bill, a file of disclosures received shall bear a security code corresponding to a registered whistleblower. “The list is archived in a secrecy manner, but can be consulted by the officer in charge of receiving whistleblower disclosures and or head of such an entity or any other employee designated by the head of the entity,” reads part of article 14. Article 16 states that an employee or any other person is not liable, civically, criminally or under administrative process, for making public interest disclosure when he or she did it in a good faith. In Article17, it is clear that a whistleblower may be summoned before justice, confidentially, using a security code and should be interrogated in camera without cross-examination. The bill was passed after MP Constance Rwaka Mukayuhi, the Chairperson of the Chamber of Deputies’ standing committee on budget and national patrimony, noted that a joint Chamber of Deputies-Senatorial committee had ironed out issues. Mukayuhi told the House that during the joint Chamber of Deputies-Senatorial committee discussions, it was agreed that it is prohibited to disclose false information on grounds such as hatred, jealousy or potential conflict between the whistleblower and the person subject to whistle blowing. Part of article 8 reads that: “It is also prohibited to make a whistleblower disclosure against a person in the interest of the person they seek to protect or with intent to defame and dishonour the individual or the entity subject to whistle blowing.” Mukayuhi told the House that amendments by the Senate were found to be “adding value” to the bill. “A civil servant, employee of a public or private entity, authority or any other person who makes whistleblower disclosures contrary to the provisions of Article 8 of this Law shall be prosecuted and punished pursuant legal provisions governing him/her or the penal code or both,” Mukayuhi read the final version of article 18.She noted that under article 19, any authority that takes action against a civil servant, an employee of public or private entity because he or she has made whistleblower disclosures in connection with offences, illegal acts and behaviors shall be punished pursuant to legal provisions governing them or the penal code or both. Organs empowered to receive disclosures The bill states that an institution shall receive whistleblower disclosures falling within its responsibilities or powers, and that an organ which receives disclosures that do not fall within its responsibilities shall forward them to the relevant public organ, but act on the disclosures within three months. Regarding benefits for whistle blowing, the bill states that notwithstanding laws that provide for benefits granted to whistleblowers, for the purposes of this law, whistle blowing shall be made as a way to demonstrate patriotism and protect public interest.Worldwide, whistleblowers’ disclosures have helped save billions of dollars, and even human lives as people “blow the whistle” and disclose acts violating the code of conduct and professional ethics governing authorities of public and non-public institutions are protected.

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House approves whistleblowers bill