Khalwale calls Kidero 'the prefect of thieves' who collapsed 
BY EUGENE OKUMU AND SHABAN MAKOKHA
Nairobi's governor is the "prefect of the thieves" involved in the Mumias Sugar company's case, Kakamega Senator Boni Khalwale has said.
Khalwale said Evans Kidero was among those responsible for the sugar company's collapse during his tenure as Mumias' CEO.
"On the fight of corruption I will support you, Mumias did not just die. You should pursue the criminals. The criminals who looted Mumias are led by their prefect governor Kidero, hold them accountable," Khalwale told President Uhuru Kenyatta.
He was addressing a gathering at Mumias during the handing over of a Sh1 million cheque by Uhuru, as a bailout to revive the sugar milling company.
Kidero has repeatedly denied involvement in the collapse of the company, even suing The Standard Group and the Nation Media Group for mentioning him in corruption allegations.
Uhuru vowed to pursue past managers of the cash-strapped Mumias Sugar Company to have them arrested and return lost money to the company “to pay farmers”.
Uhuru said problems facing Mumias were orchestrated by managers who ran the factory not for the benefit of all stakeholders but for their own stomachs.
Uhuru asked the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission to have the managers probed and forward their file to the director of public prosecution for further action.
“In the budget of 2013/2014 financial year, we allocated sh800 million to Mumias but this money did not help farmers as we had intended. We shall pursue the former managers to ensure the whereabouts of this money,” Uhuru said.
“We want the looters pursued, arrested and have the stolen money returned to the factory. Even if it means auctioning their property to recover the funds, we shall do so to have the money returned. If the recovered money will be excess, we shall give them back the extra amount,” Uhuru added.
The president said Mumias contributes over 30 per cent of the country’s sugar production “and my government will not wish to see this giant factory going to waste like other industries in other parts of this country.”
Presenting a cheque of Sh1 billion to Mumias Sugar Company board, Uhuru promised to pump more money to Mumias to have all farmers’ who delivered their cane to Mumias get their arrears cleared.
“Our intention to bring this money today is to have all sugarcane farmers who have delivered their cane to Mumias get their money. Management should make sure this is done diligently and ensure the factory is turned around to remain self-sufficient and be capable of paying farmers all the time so that they can contribute to the country’s economy” he said.
He said if the management will fail to turn around the company, they should be prepared to pack and go home “because there are a lot of Kenyans who can ensure we achieve our intended objective”.
He said there is a lot of smuggling of illegal sugar into the country due to porous borders and asked finance CS Henry Rotich and his team to ensure sugar smuggling is contained.
“Recently we impounded sugar which had been smuggled into the country from outside and repackaged into Mumias Sugar bags. We are still pursuing the owners of this sugar to have them held accountable for frustrating production of local sugar” the president said.
- See more at: http://www.the-star.co.ke/news/khalwale-calls-kidero-prefect-thieves-who-collapsed-mumias-uhuru-wants-looters-arrested#sthash.09k1QLkc.zUiUdiKc.dpuf
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