Friday, August 24, 2012

CID directed to grill lawmaker over Tana killings


The MP is said to have vowed he will not attend peace meetings called by the State/FILE
NAIROBI, Kenya, Aug 23 – Acting Internal Security Minister Yusuf Haji has directed the Criminal Investigations Department to probe Livestock Development Assistant Minister Dhadho Godhana over possible complicity in the killing of 52 people in Tana River District.
Haji told Parliament that Godhana who is the Galole MP had snubbed a meeting he called with all lawmakers from the upper eastern region on Thursday morning, and had also vowed to boycott all peace meetings.
“There is one single MP who is also an assistant minister and he has been bragging here that he is not going to attend the meetings despite the fact that over 60 Kenyans have lost their lives,” Haji told the House on Thursday.
The minister says Godhana has been telling his colleagues that he will never attend a meeting called by Haji.
Haji added: “He told my Permanent Secretary (Mutea Iringo) that he will not be attending today’s meeting and he has got the reasons why. Even in the House here, more than three MPs have come to tell me what he has been saying.”
MPs have now demanded that Godhana be sacked from the Cabinet and urged the police to move urgently and issue summons for him to record a statement because the matter at hand was weighty.
“Is the minister in order to tell us that they there is a minister who is inciting people to kill others and has done it, and you cannot sack him?” posed Yatta MP Charles Kilonzo.
“The statement made by the MP was insensitive as given the fact over 60 people have lost their lives, because he (Godhana) said he will not attend any meeting called by Haji,” said Nominated MP Maison Leshomo. “Haji is chairing those meetings as an officer of the government.”
“There is no way with my good intentions that we can sit here with people who are inciting people to kill in their country. Mr Speaker we will not be part of that Parliament. If by today Godhana has not been taken in to be questioned about the killing of his people we will have failed this country and the people,” Nominated MP Rachael Shebesh said.
Fifty two people were killed when members of the Pokomo and Orma clashed on Tuesday night in retaliatory attacks following weeks of disagreements over water and pasture.

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