Ministers Ongeri and Shaaban say they are not being investigated

BY BEAUTTAH OMANGA
Two Cabinet Ministers have termed as misleading reports that they were among top Government officials being probed by Kenya Anti-Corruption Commission.
Education Minister Sam Ongeri and his Gender counterpart Naomi Shaban denied media reports that they were among those that KACC was focusing on.
The two ministers denied committing any impropriety and instead said they had raised the red flags after they detected anomalies in the management of funds under their ministries.
" I and my then PS Karega Mutahi on sensing something was amiss called in detectives and already those implicated have been arraigned in court. I am not aware of those reports that I am under any kind of investigations. That is pure malice’ said Ongeri.
He said if at all investigations were on going, it was a normal Government procedure to know how funds allocated for various functions were spent.
Shaban, who was transferred from the Special Programmes Ministry to Gender, dismissed claims that she was under investigation over misappropriation of funds for internally displaced persons.
" I called in KACC to investigate how funds meant for the resettlement of the IDPs were spent. How then can I be under investigations yet I am the one who alerted the agencies that something was a miss? You people owe me an apology," said the minister, who sounded angry.
KACC Director PLO Lumumba this week told a local TV Station that he was investigating graft in the Basic Education, Water, Foreign Affairs and Special Programmes ministries.
Investigation into graft in Government has seen several ministers record statements.
Last week, KACC concluded investigations into the importation of vehicles and handed over their findings to the AG who recommended for the prosecution of Cabinet Minister Henry Kosgey.
At press conference called after Kosgey was charged in court with abuse of office, ODM allied MPs demanded that KACC also take action against top Government officials over the expenditure of funds meant for the IDPs.
In retaliation, PNU MPs scoffed at the demands saying their ODM colleagues were politicising the fight against graft saying each case should be dealt on its own merit.