House team to meet Wetangula over spying claims

Foreign Affairs minister Moses Wetangula will Wednesday meet a parliamentary committee to assist in investigations into a diplomatic row involving claims of espionage against his cabinet colleague.

The Defence and Foreign relations committee chaired by Wajir West MP Adan Keynan last week started investigations into the allegations facing Labour minister John Munyes.

On Tuesday, it held a closed door meeting to discuss what Mr Keynan described as ‘very sensitive security matters.’

The committee was scheduled to meet Defence minister Yusuf Haji but the meeting aborted as the minister was said to have been engaged in other matters.

The committee met Mr Munyes for two hours on Thursday after which it issued an interim report demanding that the government immediately beefs up his security.

Members also scoffed at the Government of Southern Sudan, accusing it of overstepping the diplomatic channels and making wild allegations against a member of the Kenya cabinet.

Other issues being investigated by the committee involve security concerns along the Kenya Sudan border as well as alleged recruitment of Kenyan youth into a Somali militia group along the Kenyan border with Somali.

Mr Munyes claimed last week that a southern Sudanese official had accused him of being bankrolled by Khartoum to buy weapons and spy to destabilise them.

Citing a meeting between Foreign Affairs minister Moses Wetang’ula and the officials, the Turkana North MP claimed a delegation led by the Sudanese ambassador to Kenya Majok Guandong Thiep, accused him of being used by northern Sudan to fan conflict in Southern Sudan.

The Southern Sudan government has, however, denied the allegations.

The Defence committee has also scheduled to meet National Security Intelligence Service (NSIS) boss Michael Gichangi on Thursday to question him on related matters.