Tuesday, October 19, 2010

Pressure on principals to sack ministers

Beauttah Omanga and Peter Orengo

Pressure is piling on President Kibaki and Prime Minister Raila Odinga to sack Cabinet ministers William Ruto and Moses Wetang'ula over corruption allegations.

Transparency International (TI) and the International Centre for Policy and Conflict (ICPC) said yesterday Kibaki and Raila must respect the new Constitution by asking the two to step aside pending determination of allegations of corruption against them.

"The two principals will be violating the law if they opt to retain the ministers who have been implicated in graft, which the new law abhors," said the ICPC Executive Director Ndung’u Wainaina.

TI Executive Director Samuel Kimeu said President Kibaki had no choice but to relieve Ruto and Wetang’ula of responsibilities.

Sensitive matter

He said issues surrounding the buying of the Kenyan Embassy in Japan were sensitive and deserved thorough investigation. "We’ll be keen on how MPs debate and conclude the Foreign Affairs Committee report," said Mr Kimeu.

Gichugu MP Martha Karua maintained that Higher Education and Foreign Affairs ministers be sacked. Karua blamed Kibaki and Raila for allowing the two and "others mentioned in graft" to stay.

Ruto is under pressure to resign from Government following last Friday’s ruling by a constitutional court, reinstating criminal charges instituted against him in 2004.

He is accused of receiving Sh97 million from a fraudulent sale of part of a forestland to the Kenya Pipeline Corporation, while a parliamentary report has recommended that Wetang’ula be investigated.

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