Corrupt ministers must resign or be sacked, Mudavadi tells Uhuru

Amani National Congress (anc) leader Musalia Mudavadi has challenged President Uhuru Kenyatta to go beyond issuing threats to corruption suspects in his Cabinet and sack the officials.

The ANC leader said sacking them was the only way the handshake between the President and Opposition leader Raila Odinga would have meaning.

Mr Mudavadi zeroed in on Cabinet secretaries adversely mentioned in graft cases, saying they should either resign or be dismissed.

He observed that it was meaningless to investigate individuals who were still holding powerful offices in the government, since they were likely to frustrate the processes.

“I am asking the President to order State officials whose dockets have been named in scandals, some amounting to billions of shillings, to resign. If they don’t, he must sack them so that effective investigations can be conducted,” urged the ANC leader.

TAINTED JUBILEE

While noting that the image of the Jubilee government was too tainted with corruption, the ANC boss advised Mr Kenyatta to act if he did not want to ruin his legacy.

He noted that the country’s debt had risen to Sh5.8 trillion and that citizens were having trouble settling it.

On the handshake between President Kenyatta and Orange Democratic Movement leader Raila Odinga, Mr Mudavadi said explanations on why it took place were no longer helping the country.

He added that the unity deal would be of no use if the misappropriation of public resources continued and that its significance should be demonstrated through bold steps to tame graft.

“Let the President send home those looting public resources to restore confidence in the citizens or else by 2022, his legacy will be an image tainted with corruption,” he said.

He said he would remain outside government as he did not want to be associated with the Jubilee administration, which “is tainted with corruption”.

KID GLOVES

The politician spoke at Ingotse Secondary School in Navakholo constituency, Kakamega, on Saturday during a fundraiser for a water project.

He was accompanied by MPs Omboko Milemba (Emuhaya), Ernest Gakesi (Vihiga), Titus Khamala (Lurambi), Emmanuel Wangwe (Navakholo) and a host of ANC party MCAs from the county.

Critics have accused the President of approaching corruption with kid gloves and challenged him to do more than just talk.

Mr Odinga supported the President’s sentiments, saying the fight against graft was one of the areas they agreed to work on together during their historic handshake last year. He said there was no turning back and the fight would go on.

However, Mr Mudavadi said it was time the President walked the talk. He said the head of state should not wait until suspects are arraigned as most "buy" their freedom with the money stolen from public coffers.

“Who will take the responsibility if these people don’t reach the courts? You cannot let a thief continue holding the same position he is stealing [through] until he is arraigned. This cannot happen because the country needs to move forward. For Kenya to move forward, we must stop corruption,” he stated.