MPs urge Kilifi Governor Kingi to explain his role in the theft of Sh51m county money

Kilifi Governor Amason Jeffa Kingi speaks to journalists on 27 November 2016 on corruption allegations in his county. Two MPs, Gideon Mung’aro and Peter Shehe have asked Mr Kingi to come clean and explain his role in the theft of Sh51 million from the county. PHOTO | LABAN WALLOGA | NATION MEDIA GROUP

What you need to know:

  • Mr Mung’aro says he will soon reveal another scam in which the county has been paying millions of shillings to ghost workers.
  • Mr Shehe has claimed that he was among the first whistle blowers of the ongoing corruption in the county.
  • He added that the governor’s close allies ganged up and started to fight him.
  • Mr Kingi has warned Kilifi residents against what he says is an influx of fake documents claiming there is rampant corruption.

Two MPs from Kilifi County have told Kilifi Governor Amason Jeffa Kingi not to take his people in circles over heightened corruption in his administration.

Instead, Kilifi North MP Gideon Mung’aro and his Ganze counterpart Peter Shehe, who are allied to the Jubilee Party, have asked Mr Kingi to come clean and explain his role in the theft of Sh51 million from the county and other corruption allegations bedevilling his administration.

Speaking in an interview in Kilifi on Monday, Mr Mung’aro has said it is sad that millions of tax payers’ money is being lost because of corruption in the county government, yet people are suffering from hunger, with Kingi’s administration paying little attention to it.

“He was asked to tell the people what he knows about the theft of Sh51 million and his involvement in the same. Instead of facing the truth, he has politicised the whole issue by blaming the Jubilee government.

“This is not about blame games but we want to know his role because the money lost belongs to the people of Kilifi and he must account for it,” Mr Mung’aro said.

REVEAL ANOTHER SCAM

The legislator added that he will soon reveal another scam in which the county has been paying millions of shillings to ghost workers and contractors yet there are so many stalled projects in the county.

“Kilifi residents will soon be shocked by the massive theft of public funds which is going on in the county government at the moment.

“I will soon reveal more so that the people of Kilifi can gauge the conduct of their government,” Mr Mung’aro has said.

Speaking in a separate interview, Mr Shehe has claimed that he was among the first whistle blowers of the ongoing corruption in the county, adding that the governor’s close allies ganged up and started to fight him.

He has said that it is clear that the governor has allowed his junior officers to involve themselves in corruption and hence he should carry their cross.

“There are some junior officers who were recently employed by the county and just some months into their jobs, some are building storey houses,” Mr Shehe has said.

SH35 MILLION LORRIES

He has added that one of the officers recently purchased seven tipper lorries in cash at a cost of Sh35 million.

“There is another close ally of the governor who is operating three different accounts with each account having more than Sh100 million. These are the people he allowed to engage in corruption so that he could also benefit from the funds,” said Shehe.

Last Friday, Mr Kingi warned Kilifi residents against what he said is an influx of fake documents claiming there is rampant corruption in his government.

He said the county is at the moment awash with activists who claim to be investigating corruption allegations and who later draft some reports and give them out to the public.

“I am aware that there are people collecting false information and giving it to the public. I want to tell the people of Kilifi that anyone who wants to know about the projects undertaken by the government should visit the relevant offices and you will be shown the right documents.

“Those documents you see on the streets are not genuine and are misleading,” said the governor.