Uhuru tells off critics of war on graft
What you need to know:
His statements appeared to be hitting back at Deputy President William Ruto and his political allies.
President asks opponents of the anti-corruption drive to stop politicising the issue at weddings and funerals
President also said he will work with the Opposition to unite the country
President Uhuru Kenyatta says he will not allow politics to derail his government’s anti-corruption drive. Speaking Friday, he maintained that investigative agencies should be left to do their work.
His statements appeared to be hitting back at Deputy President William Ruto and his political allies, who have accused the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) of being used to undermine Jubilee’s megaprojects under the guise of fighting corruption.
STUMBLING BLOCK
The leaders have in the past weeks claimed the DCI had been sucked into a political scheme and strategy to undermine the implementation of development projects and in the end scuttle President Kenyatta’s legacy, by making it impossible to deliver pre-election pledges.
But Mr Kenyatta said corruption must be dealt with whether some people like it or not.
“It is not me … corruption has been identified as a stumbling block towards achieving prosperity and equality. Again there is no politics there … let us allow the agencies to do their work. Let us not turn this to community fights, to individual fights,” the Head of State said.
“You will hear that so and so is being targeted but we must deal with corruption. The fact is that whether we want to accept it or not, it exists and it is an impediment and a stumbling block. Let us not politicise it, or tribalise it. Let us find the formula to fight it,” he continued.
VICTIMISE
He spoke during the launch of Kenya’s second Africa Peer Review Mechanism (APRM) Country Review Report at State House in Nairobi.
DP Ruto recently disputed that the amount of money lost in the Arror and Kimwarer dams scam was Sh7 billion and not Sh21 billion as reported by the DCI. But Mr Kenyatta, who met his deputy earlier this week, said he does not want corruption to be used to victimise anybody but to benefit the public.
“Let’s move this agenda away from weddings and funerals …,” he said.
Further, the president expressed a willingness to work with his political opponents, saying they are Kenyans.
“There is a big chunk of voters from the Opposition that did not vote for me but I have to work with them. When I am told to let those people go, I ask them where are they going? They must be served and addressed. How do you do it without talking?” he posed.
