Raila Odinga faults President Kenyatta move on corruption

Cord leader Raila Odinga has dismissed President Uhuru Kenyatta’s directive to national and county government officials who have been implicated in corruption scandals to step aside.

Mr Odinga further faulted the President for handing over to the Senate and National Assembly Speakers the list of individuals said to be under investigations for corruption.

In a statement read on his behalf by Busia Woman Representative Florence Mutua on Friday in the county, Mr Odinga described the President’s State of the Nation address delivered in Parliament on Thursday as a “hypocritical lamentation that adds to nothing and accounts for nothing”, adding that Mr Kenyatta was not committed to fighting corruption.

“What the President did was whitewashing corruption and a move to compromise war on corruption while purporting to fight the vice,” said the Cord leader.

He accused the Ethics and Anti Corruption Commission of failing to deliver on its mandate.

“We have serious objections to a supposedly independent anti-corruption agency that secretly submits a list of alleged corruption suspects to the President,” he said.

Mr Odinga questioned why President Kenyatta remained mum on graft at the electoral commission and ministries of Devolution, and Health.

"CORRUPT" ALFRED MUTUA

Machakos Governor Alfred Mutua’s strategy to save on the budget for vehicles for his county ministers landed him in the Ethics and Anti-Corruption files, which are now a subject of corruption discussion.

The EACC investigations on the governor were based on a letter from Machakos Senator Johnstone Muthama, who contested the purchase procedures of the vehicles.

Senator Muthama sought an investigation of the purchase and procedures used to determine whether they were above board.

Dr Mutua bought 15 Subaru Outback vehicles and one Land Cruiser V8 for use by his county ministers at a cost of Sh33 million.
According to his spokesperson, Mutinda Mwanzia, the balance of the funds was spent on purchase of ambulances for the county and no money was lost.

On Saturday, the county spokesman said the governor had applied the strategy of “value for money” and bought cheaper vehicles with lower fuel consumption rate to save on expenditure.

“The governor is being investigated because he purchased cheaper vehicles for county ministers and used the remaining money to serve citizens,” he said.

His supporters also defended him through comments on online reports concerning the appearance of his name in the list of the corrupt.

“Call it propaganda, show-of, or whatever… this guy is doing what he was called to do. The rest are there to enrich themselves. If this is corruption, I don’t know what accountability is,” an online reader commented.

“If saving the poor people of Machakos money is corruption, then so be it,” another stated.

Most counties spent at least Sh150 million to buy cars for their county executive officers. Machakos, however, cut a niche for itself, spending Sh33 million on the vehicles. The rest of the money, according to the governor, was spent on purchase of ambulances for 70 locations in the county.

His spokesman said the vehicles are still in good shape and have given the county value for money.

“When they were purchased, mechanical engineers from the national government inspected the vehicles and found them fit. EACC also gave the inspection report a clean bill of health,” he said.

INVESTIGATE EACC OFFICERS

Elsewhere, two governors mentioned in graft allegations want the President to appoint an agency to carry out an investigation into the backgrounds of the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) officers.

Governors Godana Doyo of Isiolo and Marsabit’s Ukur Yattani were among the public officers linked to corruption — who were directed by President Uhuru Kenyatta during the State of the Nation address at the National Assembly on Thursday to step aside and pave way for investigations.

The two governors maintained they were innocent of the allegations, adding that a team should be formed to probe EACC officers and any related body that proposed their names as corrupt leaders.

Governors Doyo and Yattani have boldly accused the commission of using its office to “tarnish” their names on political grounds.

The two maintained that they had never heard of any inquiry by EACC, nor had it ever been brought to their attention that they were under investigation for any act of corruption.

“The rule of natural justice demands procedural fairness and the right to be heard. The move by the EACC is therefore a clear violation of those principles,” said Governor Yattani.

The two governors also revealed that the commission’s secretary is on record to have publicly used his position to undermine and control the leadership of both Isiolo and Marsabit counties, for the purpose of safeguarding his interest in the region.

Both governors however stated that the move was suggestive of events that happened earlier in their counties, including an attempt to dissolve the County of Marsabit on basis of insecurity and allegations of unfairness in resource distribution, ostensibly furthered by his office.

On the other hand, Governor Doyo claims that Mr Waqo was investigating wrangles pitting members of the County Assembly, the Assembly speaker and himself and alleges that Speaker Mohammed Tubi together with Mr Waqo are known to be giving directions to the EACC staff sent to investigate the saga.

Marsabit and Isiolo governors said they do not understand the context of the report which associates them with corruption.

They said that despite the frantic efforts to “fix” them, they had never been summoned by any oversight agency or institution, including the EACC and the Senate.

The two, however, refused to step down, saying the law was very clear on issues of incrimination, adding that there are procedures on vacation of office which must be adhered to.

The governors were speaking in Isiolo town during a press briefing held to condemn graft allegations against them.

Separately, Tigania East Member of Parliament Mpuru Aburi has hit out at Meru county governor Peter Munya.

He asked him to stop using Deputy President William Ruto’s case in the International Criminal Court as the reason he (Munya) should not step aside for investigations to be conducted after he was adversely named as one of the governors involved in corruption.

Speaking to Sunday Nation, the MP said there was a great difference between the DP’s case in ICC and the corruption issues that were allegedly facing the governor.

He said it would have been taken as a bold step if Mr Munya stepped aside so that investigations could be conducted, which would prove him guilty or not of the allegations raised against him.

“If Mr Munya thinks he is as clean as he would like people to believe, he should have taken the bold step of stepping aside and allowing investigations to be carried out,” he said.

“He should not be heard dragging the Deputy President’s name into his own issues since there is a very big gap between Mr Ruto’s cases at the ICC and Munya’s corruption issues here in Kenya. Furthermore, Mr Ruto has always been complying with the court requirements,” he said.

Deputy President big loser as close allies are named in graft report

Deputy President William Ruto’s men were the first major casualties in the anti-corruption purge that could test the unity of the Jubilee coalition and President Uhuru Kenyatta’s stamina in the war against graft.

Allies of Mr Ruto who were suspended include Cabinet secretaries Felix Koskei (Agriculture), Davis Chirchir (Energy), and Kazungu Kambi (Labour) and his Chief of Staff, Marianne Kitany.

Mr Chirchir, a former electoral commission official, is a strong Ruto supporter and was the coalition’s chief agent at the national tallying centre during the March 2013 elections. His experience with management of elections and IT skills came in handy in the poll after which he was rewarded with a cabinet slot.

The Cabinet seats were shared between the President’s TNA side and Mr Ruto’s URP party with Mr Chirchir, Mr Koskei, and Mr Kambi coming from the Deputy President’s wing of the ruling coalition.

Mr Kambi, the Labour Secretary, was Mr Ruto’s top campaigner at the Coast.

And by suspending Ms Kitany, it was clear that the President had taken the anti-corruption war right into Mr Ruto’s office.

The Chief of Staff is a particularly critical position.

Ms Kitany plans and directs all administrative and operational activities in Mr Ruto’s office and serves as a link between the office and other sections of the public service.

Other Ruto allies shown the door include Patrick Osero, chairman of the Agricultural Finance Corporation, Richard Langat, the NSSF Managing Trustee, and Charles Tanui, the Kenya Pipeline Company chief executive.

Mr Osero in January claimed the ownership of the Weston Hotel in Lang'ata which was linked to the grabbing of a primary school playground.

Kuresoi South MP Zakayo Cheruiyot said Ruto is to blame for URP’s loss.

“URP lost very badly in the bargain. This is largely because it is a one-man-show. In the end, Ruto will blame himself for this,” he said.

He blamed the unease in URP on a clique around the Deputy President that he claimed cannot stand up to him and tell him things are headed in the wrong direction.

“I am not saying he should consult me, but come to think of it, what good can come from the sky team? I hope he is beginning to read the signs,” he said.

‘Sky team’ refers to a group of senior politicians known to have the DP’s ear.

Nandi Hills MP Alfred Keter said the DP’s close associates had been edged out.

“They have finished William. Look at those being asked to step aside; they are his key ministers. Felix (Agriculture Secretary Koskei), who has been effective in his work and also instrumental in organising bonuses to tea farmers, has been pushed out, and more will follow,” he said.

Mr Keter, who confirmed to the Sunday Nation that his name is in the document, dismissed the step taken by the President as meant to besmirch people’s names. He was captured on tape intimidating officials at the Gilgil weighbridge in January and using abusive language. He claimed he was fighting corruption.

On Saturday he said: “I am on record saying corruption should be declared a national disaster. How does it happen again that I am in that list? For goodness sake, I have been a corruption whistleblower.”

Another MP from the Rift Valley said the President appears to be on the war path against them, something he said could force them to retaliate. Sunday Nation also established that Mr Ruto spent about four hours at State House in last-minute consultations before the President addressed the nation.

POWERFUL BUREAUCRATS

Two powerful bureaucrats, Kibaki era remnants, Secretary to the Cabinet Francis Kimemia and Defence Principal Secretary Mutea Iringo, were also suspended. Others shown the door included Roads Cabinet Secretary Michael Kamau and his Principal Secretary Nduva Muli as well as Kenya Airports Authority MD Lucy Mbugua.

Mr Ruto has thrown his weight behind the President’s directive for government officials associated with corruption to carry their own crosses.

“We have made a decision as government. Those involved in corruption must face the full force of the law,” Mr Ruto said on Friday.

“As leaders, we have a duty and a responsibility to make sure that public resources entrusted in our care and management are used for the benefit of the people of Kenya,” Mr Ruto added.

But William Korir, a Kalenjin elder and lecturer at Egerton University, and Segemik Parish priest Fr Ambrose Kimutai on Saturday warned that the purge could strain relations amongst key stakeholders in the coalition.

According to Mr Korir, the suspension should serve as a warning for Mr Ruto.

“If a lot of people surrounding you are removed in a purge against corruption, it almost shows that you are no longer useful and may have to go in future. The removal of the people that were part of a coalition deal almost makes the DP lose his voice in 2017,” Mr Korir said.

However, former Cabinet minister Franklin Bett on Saturday said that by appearing not to shield his allies, Mr Ruto had scored big and sent a message that he supports the war against corruption and that there were no sacred cows.

“The move by Mr Kenyatta and Mr Ruto is the most patriotic in recent times. That the two would let their closest friends be investigated shows that they are ready to fight the monster of corruption,” Mr Bett, who last month defected from the Opposition Cord coalition to Jubilee, said.

Mr Bett downplayed suggestions that the crackdown could hurt Mr Ruto’s influence in the Rift Valley and divide the ruling alliance.

“Those saying that by removing people alleged to have engaged in corruption, the DP was killing his political career, are simply enemies of the fight against graft,” he told the Sunday Nation.

“The President only needs to ensure that there is no interference from any quarters and that these cases reach their meaningful conclusion and those cleared are returned to work immediately.”

But Fr Kimutai suggested that for the stability of the coalition, those state officials removed must be replaced by individuals from the region.

“Let us not throw the baby with the bath water. With the political ground being shaky in the Rift Valley, the people removed from those positions must be replaced from others from the Rift Valley,” Father Kimutai said.

The priest called for a case-by-case study and prosecution instead of a general condemnation.

“The allegations are of a differing magnitude and they should be treated as such. This blanket condemnation is not fair for natural justice,” he said.

COULD BACKFIRE

Other commentators on Saturday described President Kenyatta’s call for officials mentioned in corruption — including governors — to quit as a double-edged sword.

While the President’s supporters hailed the call as bold and decisive, his critics have been quick to call it a public relations exercise. They see President Kenyatta’s as a knee-jerk reaction choreographed to deflate public anger over the rising number of mega scandals under the Jubilee administration.

They draw parallels to similar attempts during President Kibaki’s tenure when senior ministers such as Kiraitu Murungi, David Mwiraria and George Saitoti were asked to “step aside” only to be given back their seats a few months later after being “cleared” by investigators.

The overriding theory is that while the blanket call for government officials may help send a strong signal about the President’s commitment to fight corruption, it could also backfire by putting him on a collision course with elected leaders such as governors who he cannot sack.

There are also questions about the independence of the anti-corruption commission which submitted the names to State House, the President’s moral authority to  suspend government officials having resisted similar calls against him in the past, and the fact the his deputy continues to execute his mandate despite fighting crimes against humanity charges at the International Criminal Court.

Governors have declared that they will not heed the call to quit, saying the President had no authority to ask them to step aside.

Council of Governors (CoG) chairman Isaac Ruto has dismissed the call, saying the President was only making a political statement that has nothing to do with the fight against corruption.

He challenged Deputy President Ruto to lead the way by vacating office due to his ongoing case at the International Criminal Court if, indeed, the government was serious about tackling the vice.

He said President Kenyatta had no authority to order elected leaders to leave office even as State House maintained an election does not confer on governors a licence for impunity.

17 hours ago Mega scandals, life in courts is MP Mwiti’s second nature

Until he became Imenti Central MP, little was known about Gideon Mwiti Irea, the man now at the centre of an alleged rape scandal.

Accusations that he raped a woman inside his office shocked the country. But to those who have known the man over the years, the despicable incident could have been dismissed as one of his many antics, were it not for the wide media coverage.

With deep pockets earned from involvement in a string of pyramid schemes, Mr Mwiti, whose flashy lifestyle is the envy of many, is known to keep young girls close to him during his frequent drinking sprees in the city.

He lives a mysterious life and would hardly patronise a social place for long hours. His social friends we spoke to say he fears being smoked out by people he might have dealt with in the massive money schemes.

To his constituents, Mr Mwiti is their “Livondo”, the money man, but to a majority of those who lost money through his lending schemes, he is the “Madoff”.

Bernard Madoff is an American swindler who was sentenced to 150 years in prison for running the biggest Ponzi scheme in US history.

SCHEMES

At the height of the pyramid schemes, courts and police stations were part of his life owing to numerous complaints by those who had lost their investments through him.

The woman allegedly raped by the MP in his Westlands office claimed she had gone to meet Mr Mwiti to discuss a project in one of his business enterprises — The Kenya Land Sacco.

The Kenya Land Sacco is yet another scheme the MP has started, targeting investors seeking to own a piece of land.

Mr Mwiti’s chequered history in the money schemes started in the early 1990s when he opened the Profession and Business Community Sacco (Pabco) at the Nacico Plaza next to the populous Machakos bus station in Nairobi.

He lured many investors through a financing scheme that was to assist them to own matatus — a business which was then at its peak.

But hardly two years on, Pabco closed shop with millions of investors’ money. The then City Council of Nairobi Sacco, who were the landlords, closed the offices over unpaid rent after efforts to trace Mr Mwiti became fruitless.

After the dust had settled, Mr Mwiti resurfaced and on January 29, 2004, he incorporated the Kenya Akiba Micro Financing Ltd to lend money to entrepreneurs.

Akiba first opened offices at Victor House next to Nation Centre but later moved to the mezzanine floor of Lonrho House in Nairobi.

The company opened offices in Nairobi, Kitengela, Ongata Rongai and Voi and started advancing loans.

On November 2, 2005, officers from the Banking Fraud Investigation Unit and the Central Bank of Kenya officials raided all the offices of Akiba and carried away computers, customer files, title deeds, loan documents, 3,000 logbooks, banking records, receipt books, company seals, rubber stamps and other office equipment.

They accused the company of carrying out illegal banking business. The company’s accounts in three banks were frozen and the firm was put under lock and key. Kenya Akiba had over 6,000 customers and 300 employees.

Three days later, the company moved to court claiming over Sh930 million in damages and named 13 senior police officers and CBK employees as having been involved in the raid. CBK and the Attorney-General were named as defendants.

Mr Mwiti and three other directors were arrested and charged before a Nairobi court, accused of carrying out banking business without approval, contrary to Section 3(1) and 3(2) of the Banking Act and unlawfully accepting deposits without valid licence contrary to Section 16(1) and (9).

The prosecution called 17 witnesses to testify in the criminal case that ran for six years. However, on September 23, 2011, the magistrate acquitted Mr Mwiti and co-accused holding that the three never broke any law when they carried out the business.

It is against the background of the acquittal in the criminal case that Mr Mwiti sued the CBK for damages, saying the court had cleared the directors of any blame.

On May 5, 2012, Justice Alfred Mabeya ordered CBK to pay the micro-finance firm Sh1 billion after the court found the regulator acted arbitrarily in closing down the business.

The judge said the raid on its offices by BFIU in 2005 was “unlawful, unconstitutional and unacceptable”. Akiba was closed at the height of the pyramid schemes crisis.

CBK argued that Section 3(1) prohibited the use of “Finance and Bank” by companies which solicit or accept deposits as defined in the Act except for institutions that are licensed and operate under the Banking or Building Societies Act.

But the judge said the allegations by CBK that Kenya Akiba carried out banking business contrary to the Banking Act, was “a red herring aimed to cushion the mother bank from liability for the blatant, illegal and uncalled for raid”.

The judge said the raid on the company’s head office and branches not only broke the firm’s backbone as a commercial entity but also ruined businesses of more than 6,000 Kenya Akiba’s customers and affected the livelihoods of 300 employees.

“Having analysed the company’s business activities through the records which have been in CBK’s custody for the last seven years, the bank has not produced any material to show that Kenya Akiba was doing anything other than offering hire-purchase and to assist in financing sale of motor vehicles and goods,” ruled Justice Mabeya.

'DIRECT LINK'

Never short of ideas, in 2007, Mr Mwiti launched the Kenya Business Community Sacco, a pyramid scheme that collapsed two years later with over Sh780 million of depositors’ money.

The task force chaired by the current Kitui West MP Francis Nyenze named Mr Mwiti as having been associated with two other pyramid schemes — Kenya Business Community Sacco and Kenya Multipurpose Business.

“There was a direct link between Kenya Business and Kenya Multipurpose. Investors’ funds were siphoned off from Kenya Business to buy properties in Kenya Multipurpose and the same officials transacted on behalf of the society and the company,” the task force said in its report.

On October 4, 2013, a magistrate acquitted Mr Mwiti of the criminal charges in a case lodged by 12 investors who accused him of defrauding them of their deposits.

Magistrate Elena Nderitu accused the prosecution of conducting shoddy investigations and failing to prove its case against Mr Mwiti.

She ruled that no money was paid to Mr Mwiti and the documentary evidence presented to court did not link him to the offence.

He had been accused of inducing members to deposit money with the defunct Kenya Business Community Sacco.

The prosecution alleged that Mr Mwiti tricked 12 members of the Sacco to part with Sh13 million under the guise that the savings would earn an interest rate of 16 per cent a month.

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AMAZING FAMILY PHOTO OF PRESIDENT UHURU KENYATTA AND WIFE AT HOME

Uhuru Muigai Kenyatta normally known by his two names, Uhuru Kenyatta is the son of the founding father of Kenya, Mzee Jomo Kenyatta.
He was born in the year 1961, October 26, two years before Kenya gained independence from her colonialist, Britain.
‘Uhuru’ is a Kiswahili word which means ‘freedom.’ Jomo Kenyatta, one of the freedom fighters for the realization of independence in Kenya from the oppressive hands of the British rule called his son by that name to signify that expectation.
Despite the fact his father was the president of the Republic of Kenya, Uhuru spent less time in the State House. In fact, during the reign of his father as the president, Uhuru spent his growing years in his father’s hometown, Gatundu.
The only birthday Uhuru ever to celebrate in State House was when he was seven years-old in the year 1968.

Memorial service of the late former President Nelson Mandela, 10 Dec 2013

Source: GovernmentZA

Mr. Kenyatta attended the Roman Catholic school, St. Mary’s in Nairobi. As a student in this school, Uhuru played his favorite sport rugby as a winger for Saint Mary’s Nairobi Rugby team.
Sadly, his father died when he was seventeen years-old while still studying at St. Mary’s on August 22, 1978.
After completing his studies at St. Mary’s, Uhuru attended Amherst College, Massachusetts, United States, graduating with a bachelor’s degree in Political Science and Economics in the year 1985.

RUTO TELLS OFF RAILA OVER GRAFT WAR

Deputy President William Ruto has told politicians questioning the Jubilee administration’s seriousness in fighting corruption to shut up.

Mr Ruto, who was speaking yesterday at a funds drive at the AIC Missionary College in Kapsoya, Uasin Gishu County, said the Jubilee administration was trying to “clear the mess left by previous regimes”.

Referring to Cord leader Raila Odinga’s remarks that President Uhuru Kenyatta’s leadership was incapable of tackling corruption, Mr Ruto said scandals such as Anglo Leasing “were hatched when some of them served in Narc or the Grand Coalition government”.

“They should shut up as we try to clear their mess,” said the Deputy President.

In an interview with the Sunday Nation on Saturday, Mr Odinga charged that President Kenyatta’s administration was playing public relations politics as corruption spiralled out of control.

NO COMMITMENT

“There is no commitment to fight corruption by the top leadership. “The cancer continues to spread but there has not been any attempt to address the matter since the Jubilee government took over,” said Mr Odinga.

Mr Ruto said the allegations were insincere. “Those telling us about the fight against corruption are insincere. They were there when the IEBC (Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission) and the EACC (Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission) were established,” said Mr Ruto.

He said Jubilee was serious about rooting out corruption, stressing President Kenyatta’s recent warning.

“We are clear with the President that we will not defend anyone in government, whether in Cabinet or in parastatals, who is engaged in corruption.

“Those engaging in graft will be held responsible as individuals.”

The Executive would not interfere with investigations, he said, but challenged institutions mandated with fighting corruption to deliver.

VERY CLEAR

“The Constitution is very clear in the fight against corruption. It establishes institutions with a clear mandate. Those institutions must deliver on that mandate,” said the DP.

The government had provided sufficient resources and support to all institutions, including the office of Auditor-General, the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission and the Judiciary, to make sure they work, according to Mr Ruto.

He accused opposition MPs of perpetuating corruption in some of the Parliamentary committees.

“They should start searching their souls before they point fingers at us. They should join us in making sure that we get rid of corruption which has become a cancer in our country.”

Mr Ruto said no one would be spared when the institutions mandated to fight graft name individuals implicated in corruption.