RAILA and MUTULA lock horns over Asumbi fire tragedy

The Kenyan DAILY POSTNews06:47

Thursday August 30, 2012-Barely a day after Prime Minister Raila Odinga called for immediate reinstatement of two officials sacked after the Asumbi fire tragedy, Education Minister Mutula Kilonzo has defied the orders and said that his Ministry still maintains the sacking orders.

Speaking at his office on Thursday, Mutula said the PM’s advise to reinstate the two is simply unacceptable and misguided.

“The PM cannot macro-manage my Ministry, I exercised the powers conferred to me in sacking them. They misled the Ministry that there was no learning  in local institutions, a fact they knew was against the Ministry’s policy and TSC  employment  contracts  they signed,” Mutula said.

“He should have even asked for details from me before seeking to contradict me by asking the officers to ignore TSC’s action and me to relieve them of their duties. That is totally unacceptable,” Mutula added.

Eight standard seven pupils of St Theresa Asumbi Girls Boarding Primary School were burnt to death after fire broke out on their dormitory.

The schools had kept pupils for holiday tuition defying Education Ministry orders to release students.

The Kenyan DAILY POST