Orengo attack personal, replies livid Lumumba
Photos/FILE
Mr Orengo had on July 6, 2011 launched an attack on Prof Lumumba asking him to “focus on his work” instead of engaging in public theatrics.
The war of words between Lands minister James Orengo and anti-graft agency boss Patrick Lumumba over corruption at the ministry of Lands escalated on Friday with the latter now accusing the minister of making personal attacks.
The Kenya Anti-Corruption Commission (Kacc) director wrote to the minister asking him to stop attacking the anti-graft body for raising concern over issues facing his ministry.
In his letter which was copied to the Sunday Nation, Prof Lumumba accused the minister of attacking his character and other lawyers rather than addressing the issues raised.
Last week, LSK and Kacc protested over the “serious rot” in the ministry, and they demanded immediate action against corrupt civil servants who “frustrated efficient services in the lands office”.
Prof Patrick Lumumba and LSK chairman Kenneth Akide led the demonstration. (READ: Lawyers besiege Lands ministry)
“I fail to understand how your involvement in the struggle for multiparty politics is related to the performance of the Ministry of Lands and the protest by the legal fraternity in which I am a member of good standing without any history of impropriety and without any case in its disciplinary committee in my 25 years of practice,” Prof Lumumba said in his letter.
He went on to tell the minister that just because he was “involved in the multi-party politics struggle” it does not mean that any ministry he leads is “immune to public scrutiny”.
“Please do not pooh pooh the message against corruption and poor service delivery at the ministry of Lands because you dislike the messenger, nor should you forget the antelope of corruption in pursuit of the squirrel of ad personam (personalised) attacks,” Prof Lumumba told the minister.
He added that he and Kacc will not be “deterred from using all legal methods to create awareness in the fight against corruption as it is mandated by law”.
On Wednesday, Mr Orengo had launched an attack on Prof Lumumba asking him to “focus on his work” instead of engaging in public theatrics. (READ: Orengo accuses Kacc of incompetence)
He was dismissing claims by Kacc and the Law Society of Kenya that his ministry was not acting tough on corruption.
The minister produced correspondence between him and Prof Lumumba in which the latter asked him to revoke titles of public land that had been grabbed.
He added that the anti-graft body should concentrate more on prosecuting cases on economic crimes instead of “making noise” about it and not acting.
“I take exceptions to the director of Kacc who — forgetting about his mandate and instead of doing his job — he is out there demonstrating; the reports we give get nowhere. If he wants lessons in demonstrating I can organise counter demonstrations effectively,” he said.
“It is therefore amazing that people can now come and say we are not working and yet there is evidence of our cooperation with Kacc.”
The minister also came to the defence of his ministry following a public spat between the lawyers and his PS Dorothy Ongote during the demonstration.
He challenged the Kacc boss to prove that he was committed to his work by investigating and instituting proceedings against officials of the Lands ministry found culpable.
