DP Ruto defends President’s kin’s right to State contracts

Deputy President William Ruto on Sunday defended the right of the President’s sister to participate in government tenders as the storm around the Ministry of Health’s Sh5.2 questionable payments intensified.

President Uhuru Kenyatta’s sister Nyokabi Muthama and Kathleen Kihanya, a cousin, are listed as the directors Sundales International Limited and the company is among those named in the multi-billion shilling scandal.

Mr Ruto weighed into the payments scam saying in law, the President’s sister had right to do business like every woman in the country.

Addressing worshippers at Kapyemit Primary School in Turbo, Uasin Gishu County, Mr Ruto posed: “Is it a crime for the President to have a sister?

Can’t the President have a sister? A woman is woman, we should not discriminate that if one is related to someone they should be denied access the opportunities . . . That is discrimination which we want to end in this country, if we are genuine about the fight against corruption, it should not be based on propaganda but truth and facts”.

He added that every woman in the country irrespective of the social status had right to transact business with the government.

The DP denied that the ministry had lost funds and hit out at the opposition for being envious of Jubilee’s “transformational agenda” since 2013.

He said after lacking a presidential candidate and a registered political party, the opposition was now riding on the graft allegations.

MPs Moses Kuria (Gatundu South) and Njogu Barua (Gichugu), who accompanied the DP, said that it was wrong to crucify a suspect when investigations were incomplete.

“The report is based on an audit query. I want to call for public inquiry so that if anyone is found culpable, they are imprisoned. And if there is no problem, the internal auditor should resign for tainting images,” said Mr Kuria.

He alleged that the Opposition leader Raila Odinga had played double standards in the war on graft.

“When (former) CS Charity Ngilu was accused of corruption, they met in South Africa where Mr Odinga said that action should not be taken against her until the investigations were concluded,” said Mr Kuria.

In Machakos six Jubilee leaders defended President Uhuru Kenyatta against calls by the opposition to resign for failing to fight corruption. The six MPs and a senator said the constitution had put in place institutions to fight corruption.

Embu Senator Lenny Kivuti, Meru Women Representative Florence Kajuju, MPs Dr Victor Munyaka (Machakos Town), John Munuve (Mwingi North), Itwiku Mbai (Masinga) John Waiganjo (Ol-Joro-Orok and former Kibwezi MP Kalembe Ndile said calls for the resignation of the President were ill-conceived and misguided. Mr Kivuti said President Kenyatta had steered the country to economic prosperity.

He said the President had united the country by merging other regional parties to form the Jubilee Party which had a national outlook.

Mr Munyaka said the construction of the Nairobi-Machakos dual carriageway will commence this week adding the Jubilee government had done a lot to develop the Ukambani region.

Mr Ndile said the opposition should stop politicising the war on corruption.

“Those who are in charge of the Health Ministry should answer the questions of lost funds in the Ministry and not President Uhuru Kenyatta,”said Mr Ndile.

He said soon elders from Mt Kenya and Ukambani regions will be moving around preaching peace among Kenyans.

Mwingi North MP said there was no possibility of Wiper Leader Kalonzo Musyoka being the Cord Presidential candidate as his party had a smaller following compared to ODM.

PREPARE FOR DEFEAT

He said some people in his constituency trekked for 40 kilometers to fetch water but the President had helped him with 1.4 billion to make water available to residents.

Mr Munuve said there was no alternative way of taking the leadership of the country and told opposition leaders to prepare for defeat in the elections.
“If you are defeated at the ballot, there is no other way of ascending to the Presidency, “Mr Munuve told Cord leaders.

Similar sentiments were echoed by Mr Waiganjo who said the constitution has put in place institutions to fight corruption.

“How can you ask the President to resign when we are ten months to elections? How can you ask the President to fight corruption when there are institutions? ,”he posed.

He said it was wrong for the opposition to say they would demonstrate over corruption adding some people died during the demos to send IEBC Commissioners home and said the country did not need any more bloodshed.

Masinga MP Mr Mbai challenged Mr Odinga to come clean on Youth funds and the maize scandal which happened during his tenure as Prime Minister before he could criticize President Kenyatta.

He told the residents not to blindly follow political parties but carefully examine the individuals they were going to elect to office.

Meru Women Representative Florence Kajuju asked those opposed to President Kenyatta leadership to give him time to serve his term.

“Those calling for demonstrations should bring their families and relatives out in the streets to demonstrate, “said Kajuju.

The leaders later addressed a rally at Mutituni market where they painted the market red with jubilee T-shirts.