Jubilee big shots speechless after new NYS claims

No one in power wants to talk in public about the episode of the National Youth Service scandal blown up by the sensational claims made by businesswoman Josephine Kabura Irungu on Monday.

Even ruling coalition Jubilee hawks, House Majority Leader Aden Duale and his Senate counterpart Prof Kithure Kindiki, who routinely respond on allegations against the government, kept loudly silent as the government’s image took a beating.

State House spokesman Manoah Esipisu, who last year had defended Ms Anne Waiguru, the former Devolution Cabinet Secretary at the centre of the Sh791 million scandal, this week steered clear of the subject.

There were no hurriedly convened press conferences to defend Ms Waiguru, as was the case when she was under fire last year, and who only a fortnight ago indicated she was in touch with the President over her new quest for public office — running for Nairobi governor under Jubilee.

And the political gains that President Uhuru Kenyatta achieved in his robust war against corruption now seem to be going up in smoke after the mutating NYS scandal ghost reared its ugly head after a four-month hiatus.

The President now seems to be back to square one, weeks to the first anniversary of the momentous address he made in Parliament during his State of the Nation address in March last year, signalling his intentions to crush corruption.

The March 25, 2015 address was received with an unprecedented standing ovation and widespread acclaim as he announced to a joint session of Parliament and to the country that he would lead the war on corruption from the front.

He tabled an explosive list of those fingered in corruption investigations and demanded that those in the Executive, starting with his ministers, step aside.

The President was also to receive rare reviews when he told the then visiting Pope Francis in November 2015 that he was willing to slay the dragon of corruption.

JUBILEE AGENT

He asked the Pontiff to pray for him.

All that now appears to be water under the bridge as he faces a crisis of confidence from a sceptical public that has been let in on a poorly kept secret that key figures in his government were never serious about fighting graft.

Cord leader Raila Odinga on Saturday claimed that Ms Waiguru was an agent fixed by the Jubilee government to steal public funds ahead of the 2017 General Election.

Mr Odinga, speaking during a burial in Sakwa, Bondo, said the NYS theft saga was a ploy by the government to swindle funds from the national kitty.

“Waiguru is an agent of somebody in the government. She was placed there systematically to create an ample environment through which the national government can swindle funds from the National Treasury for its own gain,” said Mr Odinga at the funeral of Mr Dave Okwach, ODM vice-chairman, Kisumu County.

Mr Odinga also criticised the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission for “beating about the bush” by claiming that it had cleared Ms Waiguru over other issues and not the NYS saga.

The Opposition chief said the Jubilee Government had lost direction and does not seem to differentiate between public and private property.

The affidavit by Ms Irungu, which has lifted the lid on how crooked officials and unscrupulous businesspeople collude to steal from public coffers — and design crooked ways to defeat justice — has embarrassed the government at a time when the rival coalitions are mobilising their supporters to register as voters ahead of next year’s polls.

The affidavit has also rejuvenated the opposition Cord coalition who now seem vindicated after having said the government was engaging in smoke-and-mirrors make-believe efforts to hoodwink the public that there was a war on corruption.

Also vindicated are Members of Parliament who had insisted that Ms Waiguru should have left office long before the government bowed to public pressure to witness her exit in mid-November 2015.

POOR TIMING
Ms Waiguru herself faces a renewed interest in her every move, days after she announced her bid to run for Nairobi governor, and then the damning allegations by Ms Kabura — which she has denied.

The affidavit claims that Ms Waiguru masterminded the whole process of looting NYS despite enjoying the President’s support in her endeavours.

It shows she was in the loop as taxpayers’ money was swindled by a network of briefcase companies.

President Kenyatta will have a hectic time trying to win back public confidence in the war on corruption.

Perhaps as a pointer that State House was jolted by Ms Irungu’s assertions, on Wednesday the President chaired a meeting of the multi agency team that is tasked with fighting corruption.

He requested to be kept abreast of a new wave of investigations that were kicked off after the affidavit became public.

Mr Kenyatta had thrown full support behind Ms Waiguru and graced several of her official functions — including her homecoming party in Gichugu constituency, Kirinyaga County.

The President participated in a clean-up drive in Huruma, visited Kibera and Nyalenda slums in Kisumu to offer support to the CS, who increasingly appeared to be a favourite — until trouble struck last year.

Three weeks ago, Ms Waiguru said she would consult the President on whether to run for Nairobi governor, a statement that was not denied by State House.

Her announcement to run for governor barely four months after she resigned and sought “lighter” duties sent tongues wagging on whether she would receive the President’s support.

The Head of State is now left with a charging opposition that, for long, had said Ms Waiguru was being shielded.

When the President presented Parliament with 300 names of individuals who were under the radar of EACC, opposition leader Raila Odinga claimed Ms Waiguru’s name had been omitted.

The government denied the accusation.

FIERCE SENTIMENTS
In June 2015 the President’s spokesman, Mr Esipisu, had defended Ms Waiguru, saying she was being targeted because she was a performer. 

It now appears the defence mounted by State House may have come a bit too early.

And Central Kenya MPs, especially Mr Kanini Kega and Mr Kabando wa Kabando, who openly called for Ms Waiguru’s sacking or resignation, appear to be vindicated.

President Kenyatta’s confidant and JAP vice-chairperson David Murathe admitted that the affidavit may have dealt a blow to Jubilee in terms of perception but was optimistic that the negativity would fade away with time.

“The projects will come back. In fact, I suggest they be placed directly under the President instead of the ministry as is the case now,” he said.

Political commentator Prof Macharia Munene believes the Waiguru debacle is “symbolic of institutional and structural weaknesses” within the government.

“There is work that needs to be done. We need to relook at our Constitution. We have given the President the mandate to work but he is hindered by the Constitution. He cannot give orders like (former President Daniel arap ) Moi used to order things to be done mara moja (immediately). The President is drawn down by the Constitution,” he said.

He said the weaknesses within the government that allowed slow and weak investigations into the NYS scandal need to be identified and fixed.

Makueni Senator Mutula Kilonzo said though the intentions for NYs were noble, “the execution was pathetic because of the political undertones that accompanied it”.

“The executors started celebrating before the cement dried. In the end, they gave little and stole the rest. The Kibera project and others were a ruse to steal. It is embarrassing,” he said.

Yatta MP Francis Mwangangi said it was wrong in the first place to have the projects implemented in perceived Cord areas.

“All Kenyans pay taxes to the same government. The idea that NYS projects could only be deployed in some areas was wrong. All constituencies deserve to be given a share of the projects,” he said.

He said Ms Waiguru could have had designs to run for governor when she was still a CS. He called for an audit of all NYS projects.

“The NYS needs to be restructured and their projects across the country probed. We in Muungano party also want the projects,” he said.

BE JUDICIOUS
ODM National Chairman John Mbadi said the NYS projects were a diversionary tactic to lure the public away from “the looting of NYS”.

“They created politics about it, in the meantime they were looting NYS dry.  There was nothing meaningful done. Just publicity stunts while the real work was to steal,” he said.

Mr Mbadi said the aim was to portray Mr Odinga, who served Kibera as MP for 20 years, as visionless.

“They forgot that people know Raila started a slum upgrading project which was a more comprehensive approach. He was frustrated by Treasury. What they were doing was just gimmicks. The drainages they were opening are clogged again,” he said.

He said it was wrong for President Kenyatta through his spokesman to come to the aid of Ms Waiguru in mid last year.

“In government there are processes starting with planning, design and implementation. What they ended up with was a poorly thought-out project that ended up taking over devolved functions without relevant authority,” he said.

Political analyst Adams Oloo said despite it being a sworn affidavit whose contents will be put to test in court, there was need for action. “There are many questions that emerge from that affidavit; for example, were the raids phony as alleged?” he posed.

He said President Kenyatta, though blameless on what may have been omitted or committed by the government institutions, should move in and act decisively.

“There has been silence from the Office of President on this issue, yet they release statements on mundane issues. He needs to act because the public now knows something is not right,” said Dr Oloo.