Kiunjuri and Wamalwa quizzed over Sh21bn dams scandal
What you need to know:
Both Cabinet secretaries, however, came out claiming innocence.
They said they were confident of being exonerated.
They had only been called to assist in the ongoing investigation, they said.
Mr Kiunjuri, in particular, claimed there was a deliberate effort by people he did not name to paint him as corrupt.
Agriculture Cabinet Secretary Mwangi Kiunjuri and his Devolution counterpart, Mr Eugene Wamalwa, were Thursday evening walking a tight rope over their roles in the Kimwarer and Arror dams scandal.
They spent several hours at the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) headquarters in Nairobi as the noose tightened on those responsible for the loss of Sh21 billion paid to CMC Di Ravena for the two dams.
'PRIME SUSPECT'
Both Cabinet secretaries, however, came out claiming innocence. They said they were confident of being exonerated.
They had only been called to assist in the ongoing investigation, they said. Mr Kiunjuri, in particular, claimed there was a deliberate effort by people he did not name to paint him as corrupt.
“Over the past seven months, my name has been dragged through mud and appeared in newspapers and social media for all the wrong reasons — from the maize scandal to sugar, fertiliser and now the dams.
“My honest question and one that my family, friends and supporters are asking is this: why am I being taken through this painful journey? Why does there appear to be an effort to create a perception in the minds of Kenyans that I am a prime suspect?” he asked.
Mr Wamalwa said he went to clarify to the investigators his role in the two dams.
CLARIFIED
“I recorded a statement on the Arorr and Kimwarer dams probe, where I clarified that they were not under my jurisdiction. I urge Kenyans to support the ongoing investigations and the fight against corruption by our agencies,” he said.
It was not clear if the two will be charged, but sources said one of them could be on his way out of the Cabinet as the President steps up his war against corruption.
Still at the DCI, Kerio Valley Development Authority Managing Director David Kimosop was questioned for the third time as investigators had not finished with him the previous night.
Investigators wanted to know from Mr Kimosop if all the procurement laws were followed in the conceptualisation, tendering and financing of the two dams.
Mr Kimosop, who has been at the helm of KVDA since 2012, is said to have maintained that plans for the dams had been drawn before he joined the institution.
