By Nation reporter
Posted Thursday, April 14 2011 at 19:56
Posted Thursday, April 14 2011 at 19:56
It is only a matter of time before suspended Higher Education minister William Ruto returns to the Cabinet.
The Eldoret North MP was only awaiting formal communication from the President to resume duty after he was on Tuesday acquitted of Sh43 million land fraud charges for lack of evidence, Government spokesman Alfred Mutua said Thursday.
His co-accused, Mr Joshua Kulei and Mr Sammy Mwaita, were also set free.
But Mr Ruto has another fraud case in an Eldoret court, complicating his reappointment to the Cabinet.
The MP has been sued by the Kenya Anti-Corruption Commission over a council plot in Eldoret municipality.
The anti-graft body has sued him, alongside former Lands Commissioner Wilson Gachanja and two companies over a parcel of land it claims was illegally acquired from the council by the defendants.
Dr Mutua said once a suspended individual, charged with corruption or any economic crime had been cleared of the charges, it was automatic that he would be reinstated.
Section 62 of the Anti-Corruption and Economic Crimes Act stipulates that “a public officer who is charged with corruption or economic crime shall be suspended at half pay, with effect from the date of the charge.”
It continues: “The public officer ceases to be suspended if the proceedings against him are discontinued or if he is acquitted.
Dr Mutua said: “Based on this, it is pretty straight forward that once you have been cleared, you resume your office.
“Not withstanding any thing, I don’t think there is any reason that will stand between his return to Cabinet.
“It is just a matter of time, maybe he is awaiting official communication to enable him return to Cabinet.”
Mr Ruto was suspended from the Cabinet after a Constitutional Court dismissed objections he had raised against the fraud case and ordered that the case should proceed.
When he announced his suspension on October 19, last year, President Kibaki said Mr Ruto would stay out of office and wait for the fraud case to be concluded.
The President in the meantime appointed Prof Hellen Sambili, to act as Minister for Higher Education.
She is also the minister for East African Cooperation.
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