Raila dismisses Uhuru’s claim on corruption
What you need to know:
- The Opposition leader was responding to a State House Summit on accountability on Tuesday where President Kenyatta said he had been frustrated with the way his own agencies had worked.
- Director of Public Prosecutions Keriako Tobiko and Eacc Chief Executive Halakhe Waqo on Tuesday maintained that there was no evidence linking Ms Waiguru to the loss of Sh719 million from NYS.
Cord leader Raila Odinga on Wednesday dismissed President Uhuru Kenyatta’s assertion that agencies charged with fighting corruption had failed to do their job despite support from State House.
Instead, Mr Odinga, himself a former Prime Minister, argued the government had indirectly allowed corruption to thrive.
"How is it that a government official is able to donate Sh50 million at church harambees? Where does he get the money?" he asked.
“Let us accept that the crooks milking Kenya dry operate from the heart of the Jubilee government, with the offices of the President and that of the Deputy President leading from the top when it comes to stealing from Kenyans,” he told journalists at his Capitol Hill offices.
“President Uhuru Kenyatta and Deputy President William Ruto have become the biggest defenders of anyone accused of corruption. He is aiding and abetting corruption and his government is the prime suspect,” Mr Odinga added.
The Opposition leader was responding to a State House Summit on accountability on Tuesday where President Kenyatta said he had been frustrated with the way his own agencies had worked.
At the same event, agency bosses traded blame, and said the judiciary has contributed most on stalling the war on corruption.
Mr Odinga argued the event demonstrated that the Jubilee government has "failed and failed spectacularly" in fighting corruption.
Mr Odinga and other government’s fiercest critics; John Githongo and David Ndii did not attend the summit but they have all dismissed the conference as a choreographed event meant to sanitise the government.
The beef started last year in March when the President suspended 175 senior government officials among them five cabinet secretaries; Felix Koskei, Michael Kamau, Kazungu Kambi, Davis Chirchir and Charity Ngilu. They were eventually sacked from government although none of them was convicted of the crime they were accused of.
But Mr Odinga argued the President was naïve, knew the Eacc was already weak and redacted from the infamous List of Shame officials then close to his office such as former Devolution CS Anne Waiguru were mentioned.
Director of Public Prosecutions Keriako Tobiko and Eacc Chief Executive Halakhe Waqo on Tuesday maintained that there was no evidence linking Ms Waiguru to the loss of Sh719 million from NYS.
But an ongoing inquiry by a committee of the National Assembly has shown the amount could have been as high as Sh1.8 billion, with witnesses linking Ms Waiguru to the scandal. She denies every charge.
