Members of Parliament are protesting Wednesday's reappointment of foreign affairs minister Moses Wetangula and Permanent secretary Thuita Mwangi. Parliament's foreign affairs and defence committee is now demanding that the government explains why Wetangula and Thuita were recalled before they are cleared of anti graft claims against them. MPs described the reappointment as an affront on parliament's democracy and a threat to separation of powers. Ikolomani MP Dr Bonny Khalwale said the President's decision to reappoint the two raises doubt over the government's commitment to tackle corruption. He said the move indicates that parliament acts in futility revisiting the censure motion against Transport minister Amos Kimunya who was reappointed despite incriminating reports on his conduct contained in the cocker report. And the chairman of the committee Adan Keynan is seeking the national assembly speaker's direction on the matter urging parliament to bar the ministry from transacting any business in parliament pending the outcome of a probe that will clear the minister and his permanent secretary. Keynan said that the government should have awaited a report by investigating organs before re appointing the two as endorsed by parliament when it adopted the committee's report. He claimed that only two weeks ago the Kenya Anti Corruption Commission (KACC) director had claimed that the body was yet to make inroads into the investigation as it was still seeking Japanese interpreters over the alleged Tokyo deal. The matter was kicked off by Bahari MP Benedict Gunda a member of the defense and foreign affairs committee who sought a ministerial statement in relation to the appointments. He questioned why the two were re appointed yet they were implicated in corruption which is against chapter six of the constitution. He questioned why the executive had reversed parliament's decision without tangible evidence to clear the two. Wetang'ula and Thuita stepped down last October after a probe by the defense and foreign affairs committee implicated them in irregular acquisitions of missions abroad that saw the tax payer lose billions of shillings amounting to Sh1.1bn. The report faulted the ministry under the foreign affairs minister and his PS Thuita Mwangi for fraudulently purchasing Kenya's missions in Tokyo, Islamabad (Pakistan), Brussels (Belgium), Lagos (Nigeria) and Cairo in Egypt. |
Thursday, August 25, 2011
Kenya MPs ptotest Wetangula reappointment
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