Governors dismiss President Kenyatta graft order

What you need to know:

  • Governors body says President has no powers to remove elected leaders.
  • State officers mentioned in criminal cases should leave office first, says Governor Munya.

No governor will resign on account of President Uhuru Kenyatta’s pronouncement that public officials mentioned in corruption step aside.

Council of Governors (CoG) chairman Isaac Ruto dismissed the call saying the President was only making a political statement that has nothing to do with the fight against corruption.

He challenged Deputy President William Ruto to lead the way by vacating office due to his ongoing case at the International Criminal Court if indeed the government is serious about tackling the vice.

He said President Kenyatta has no authority to order elected leaders to leave office even as State House maintained an election does not confer on governors, a license for impunity.

“The President could have taken the bold move to sack members of his Cabinet including principal secretaries who are directly appointed by him, to demonstrate his seriousness on the war on graft,” he said.

“Government officials can be fired or he can give an executive order. Vacating office by the governors is governed by the Constitution,” said Mr Ruto who spoke in Nairobi on Friday.

LEAD THE WAY

Later on, Mr Ruto led his team into a closed door meeting with a group of lawyers at Panafric Hotel, Nairobi to chart the way forward regarding the governors mentioned in corruption.

The governors are said to have been seeking to understand implications of President Kenyatta’s order for them to vacate office.

Governors who accompanied Mr Ruto included Meru’s Peter Munya and his Turkana counterpart Josephat Nanok.

Mr Munya top national government officials mentioned in criminal cases should lead the way by in stepping aside first.

“Some of them are facing serious criminal charges in a global court. Why are they not stepping aside? If I see his deputy stepping aside, I will do so the next day,” Mr Munya said in reference to the DP Mr Ruto, who is facing crimes against humanity at the ICC in The Hague.

He added: “The pronouncement is completely outrageous, I think this national government is playing politics with corruption.”

He questioned why the President had to attach the Ethics and Anti-corruption (EACC) report to his speech when the commission is expected to submit its report directly to Parliament.

“This whole thing is suspect. So the President is now the head of EACC!” Mr Ruto said.

The governors said it is unfair for President Kenyatta to drag people’s names into corruption claims yet the government has capacity to investigate individuals and charge them in court.

The EACC is supposed to be independent and free from a manipulation, they said.

The governors faulted the report saying it was not endorsed by the EACC advisory board and termed it a creation of the commission’s CEO Halakhe Waqo.

However, Senior Director of Public Communications at State House Munyori Buku said elections should subject public servants to the highest standards of probity.

“Governors’ excuse is a ringing testimony of their short sighted, callous and reckless disregard for accountability,” he said.