Uhuru Kenyatta stands his ground amid calls to sack Anne Waiguru

A defiant President Uhuru Kenyatta on Saturday said he was not changing his position on Devolution and Planning Secretary Anne Waiguru despite the corruption allegations levelled against her and demands by the Opposition for her to leave office.

The President’s spokesman, Mr Manoah Esipisu, also told the Sunday Nation the government will not engage the Opposition Cord “in a ping-pong game” in the fight against corruption.

This is after opposition leader Raila Odinga on Friday released documents he claimed link Ms Waiguru with questionable deals when she was the director of Integrated Financial Management Information Systems (IFMIS) in the Treasury.

“The EACC made itself very clear yesterday (Friday). We will not be dragged into politics. We have made our position known on the matter and there is nothing to discuss about that,” said Mr Esipisu.
The EACC reiterated that Ms Waiguru is not under investigation over IFMIS.

The commission’s deputy chief executive, Mr Michael Mubea, also rejected claims that names of former electoral commission officials accused of having received Sh50 million in bribes from a UK firm, Smith & Ouzman, to award contracts were edited from the list that President Kenyatta tabled in Parliament on March 26 as alleged by Mr Odinga.

QUESTIONABLE DEALS

On Ms Waiguru, the EACC said the anonymous report it received on questionable transactions at IFMIS did not include names of individuals, a situation he said was “very normal”.

“The investigation, which is being fast-tracked, is to reveal the names but that is not to say that Ms Waiguru will not be interviewed. Even if she is interviewed that does not make her a suspect,” said Mr Mubea.

The complaint report on officials of the now defunct Interim Independent Electoral Commission (IIEC), Mr Mubea said, was also made without names.

“It happened that in the course of the investigations some names were mentioned in a London court. We are seeking assistance from the UK government,” he said.

Mr Mubea said the EACC will not be dragged into politics. “We must be allowed to do our work professionally which should not be linked to political talk. We are professionals and there will be no sacred cows. Our independence also means that we don’t take instructions from anyone. You can see that by the calibre of people we have recently charged.”

Mr Odinga had accused the President of playing “the game of favourites” in the fight against corruption where certain people in his government are treated differently.

INVESTIGATE IFMIS

“If IFMIS was being investigated by the EACC for the inflation of contracts to the tune of Sh1 billion, why didn’t the Cabinet Secretary at the time of the suspicious transactions — Anne Waiguru — step aside?” Mr Odinga had said.

Mr Odinga also claimed that Ms Waiguru’s name, and those of officials of the IIEC were deliberately omitted from the “List of Shame”.

The documents released by Mr Odinga on Friday indicate that the EACC had, on March 21, written to the National Treasury seeking all documentation regarding provision of consultancy services for re-engineering of the Oracle Database application in the directorate in charge of IFMIS.

Ms Waiguru was director of IFMIS before she was appointed to the Cabinet in 2013 and the documents available show that she signed the payment vouchers.

The Devolution Secretary has also been under fire over suspicious transactions involving Sh826 million at the National Youth Service (NYS) which is under her ministry, through dubious deals.

Meanwhile, Mr Odinga said, Ms Waiguru has not been asked to step aside to facilitate investigations like her colleagues Michael Kamau (Transport), Davis Chirchir (Energy), Felix Koskei (Agriculture), Charity Ngilu (Land) and Kazungu Kambi (Labour).

Uncharacteristically, when the NYS scandal came to light, State House came to her defence.

Mr Esipisu on June 24 said that Ms Waiguru was not under investigation and, therefore, would not be required to step aside like her colleagues.

“The issue of Sh826 million has been twisted in order to execute a well-choreographed scheme. There is no evidence of loss of funds given that the transaction was reversed at IFMIS,’’ a statement from State House said then.

Mr Odinga’s “game of favourites” phrase is gaining currency including in URP, an affiliate of the Jubilee coalition.

This is after President Kenyatta defended Ms Waiguru in the face of the graft allegations against her.

DOUBLE STANDARDS

Those pushing for her ouster accuse the Head of State of applying double standards.

Vocal Nandi Hills MP Alfred Keter (URP) says the fact that State House defended Ms Waiguru was the clearest signal that she was more equal than others in Cabinet.

“When it was Mrs Ngilu, Maryanne (Kitany, Chief of Staff at the Deputy President’s office) they were not women but the moment Waiguru was named, it suddenly became the profiling of hardworking women of this country. Aren’t the others not women as well?” Mr Keter asked.

He accused Mr Esipisu of overstepping his mandate in defending Ms Waiguru.

“Esipisu is not an investigating officer to purport to clear Waiguru of any wrongdoing,” he said.

Just like Ms Waiguru, Mrs Ngilu also said she had called on the Directorate of Criminal Investigation to conduct investigations in her ministry when she realised that all was not well.

Mr Keter wondered why Mr Koskei was still out of Cabinet even after he was cleared by the EACC.

Mr Esipisu rejected the accusations of favouritism by the President.

“Our focus in the fight against corruption has not changed in any way. We are doing the most important work of sealing the loopholes in corruption and we will not do so by making noise,” he said.

He also rubbished claims that State House was interfering with the independence of the EACC.

“We are not fighting any institution. Instead, we are strengthening them,” said Mr Esipisu.

Chuka-Igambang’ombe MP Muthomi Njuki (TNA) also defended Mr Kenyatta.

“The President does not name suspects. It is the work of the anti-graft body to do that. The question of favouritism would only arise if the EACC had mentioned her name but she has not stepped down. You cannot expect her to step aside on the strength of newspaper reports,” he said.

As the fight against corruption drags on, URP has kicked off a campaign to have Mr Koskei reinstated to the Agriculture ministry.

Meanwhile, Mr Chirchir’s fate remains unclear, with reports suggesting that the EACC has written to the authorities in London seeking information that could link him to the bribery scandal when he was a commissioner with IIEC.