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| The civil society has persisted calls for the embattled Education Minister Prof. Sam Ongeri to step down |
A group of civil society activists milled around Education Minister Prof. Sam Ongeri's Jogoo House office for the second day running Thursday, demanding his resignation over the 4.2 billion shillings Free Primary Education funds scandal.
Unlike Wednesday, the group resisted attempts by police to remove them and in defense cited sections of the Constitution that guaranteed the right to education.
The group that staged a sit in outside Jogoo House demanded that either the minister resigns or he be fired by President Mwai Kibaki to pave way for investigations into the scam.
And as the drama unfolded, police had a hard time trying to convince the activists to leave to no avail.
Another section quoted by the activists in their refusal to leave touched on the ethics and integrity in public leadership to back their claims that Prof. Ongeri was indeed unfit to be in office.
But things were to turn nasty later in the afternoon as a group of hired street boys attacked the protestors with human waste.
Wednesday afternoon saw the activists forcefully removed from the Jogoo House gate by a number of street boys but Thursday incident went a notch higher with the street boys, allegedly hired splashing them with human faeces, causing a stir Jogoo House.
The activists had on Wednesday staged a night vigil at the minister's office before they were arrested and released two hours later without being charged with any offence.
The said activists were among the 22 who were arrested on December 24the 2009, following civic action to spotlight embezzlement of FPE funds.
Mutua's defense
Meanwhile Government Spokesman Dr. Alfred Mutua has defended Prof. Ongeri over corruption allegations facing his ministry.
"The Minister cannot sit back and allow money to be squandered as he watches," said Mutua adding that the money was channeled to individual accounts who are under investigation by the Criminal Investigations Department (CID).
He said the 19 officers have recorded statements and will appear in court and asked for patience from Kenyans as they will soon get to know the culprits behind the loss of 4.6 billion shillings that was meant for Free Primary Education program.
"You cannot assume office today and be responsible for what took place three years back", he said.
Dr.Mutua added that the law will soon catch up with the people who messed-up with money.
Constituents look to Kibaki
And a section of Nyaribari Masaba constituents have protested against what they termed harassment of Prof. Ongeri over lost funds at his ministry.
Led by councillors, businessmem and public transport operators,the constituents called for fair treatment of elected leaders whose public offices were accused of financial improprieties.
They threatened to lead a delegation to Kisii town tomorrow to register their concerns to President Mwai Kibaki who was scheduled to preside over a fundraiser in aid of the Seventh Day Adventist church.
Taking issue with the civil society groups who barricaded Ongeri's office even after he had raised a red flag over the scam and initiated investigations, the constituents accused them of hypocrisy.
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