ODM members going soft on graft suspects face ejection from committees — Mbadi
National Assembly Minority Leader John Mbadi addresses journalists in a past function. Mr Mbadi has warned Orange Democratic Movement members over sympathising with corruption suspects. PHOTO | FILE | NATION MEDIA GROUP
What you need to know:
- National Assembly minority leader asks ODM members to support war on graft.
Mr Mbadi said politicians who claim the ongoing war on graft is a witch-hunt should give evidence of their claims.
His assertions come in the wake of claims that a silent but vicious war has erupted in Jubilee following President Kenyatta’s purge on graft.
The Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) has vowed to crack the whip on members sympathising with senior government officials under investigations over corruption.
Mr John Mbadi, the ODM chairman and National Assembly minority leader, said the party supports the ongoing war against corruption.
“Any member from the opposition who is going to 'ethnicise' or 'tribalise' the war against corruption will be removed from parliamentary committees,” said Mr Mbadi.
The ODM leader said the opposition has in the last five years been calling on President Uhuru Kenyatta to use state agencies to fight corruption, but he seemed reluctant.
“Now that he is using them [state agencies] to fight the vice, we should all support him because we would be naive to begin fighting him,” said Mr Mbadi.
Speaking at Wachara Catholic Church in Ndhiwa, Mr Mbadi said the Majority leader in the National Assembly Aden Duale is also expected to crack the whip on Jubilee MPs who sympathise with government officials implicated in graft scandals.
Mr Mbadi said politicians who claim the ongoing war on graft is a witch-hunt should give evidence of their claims.
“Some few individuals in the country cannot enrich themselves at the expense of wananchi and then say the war against corruption is witch-hunt,” said Mr Mbadi.
Mr Mbadi said the opposition will not tolerate any of its member supporting those implicated on graft scandals.
His assertions come in the wake of claims that a silent but vicious war has erupted in Jubilee following President Kenyatta’s purge on graft with allies of his deputy, William Ruto, feeling that they are unfairly being targeted.
Earlier Nandi senator, Kiprotich Cherargei, a close ally of the deputy president who chairs the Senate’s Justice and Legal Affairs Committee said war on corruption should be done in good faith and not based on succession politics.
Mr Mbadi’s sentiments were supported by MPs Lilian Gogo (Rangwe), Mark Nyamita (Uriri) and Walter Sirawa (Awendo) who pledged to support Mr Kenyatta’s and opposition leader Raila Odinga’s war against corruption.
“All leaders in the country have no option but to join the president in the fight against corruption. It is the only way we will win trust and confidence of Kenyans,” said Ms Gogo.
Speaking during a fundraiser in aid of Asumbi Teachers College in Asumbi, Rangwe Constituency on Saturday, the three MPs asked Kenyans to begin fighting corruption from at the grass roots level.
The anti-corruption campaign has seen the Directorate of Criminal Investigation (DCI) raid homes of former Kenya Pipeline officials with investigations launched into irregular supplies of maize at the cereals board.
