President Uhuru Kenyatta has expressed confidence that the ongoing corruption cases will lead to convictions and return of public assets that were allegedly stolen.
The corruption cases against top government officials and their proxies concerning theft of billions of shillings from public coffers is among major issues that the president has set his eyes on as he aims at leaving a legacy after his second term of leadership ends in 2022.
“We believe that we have a solid case and have done all the necessary investigations. We are looking at what the Judiciary will do. I am confident that they will come through for the people of Kenya,” he said in France, during an interview on France24 TV.
Although the issue of corruption dented the Jubilee Government’s image since it came to power in 2013, there were renewed efforts to deal with it after President Kenyatta was sworn in following last year’s General Elections.
Major leadership changes that were made to the Directorate of Criminal Investigations and the Department of Public Prosecutions have resulted in arrests and prosecution of hundreds of graft suspects both from national and county governments.
Some of the public institutions affected are the National Youth Service (NYS), National Cereals and Produce Board (NCPB), Kenya Power and Kenya Pipeline Company, whereby losses mostly occur during procurement.
Lack of convictions on scandals that rocked the Jubilee leadership in its first term, such as the Afya House saga and the first scandal at NYS, has led critics to question whether the current prosecutions will bear fruit.
“We believe that we have a capable and independent judiciary and every Kenyan hopes that prosecutions will be turned to conviction and sentencing,” the president said.
He added: “Success cannot only be measured by investigations and prosecutions but by the number of cases we are able to conclude with clear convictions, sentencing and return of stolen assets to Kenyans. This is the stage we have reached now.”
Concerning Kenya-China relations, President Kenyatta reiterated that Kenya has a huge infrastructure deficit which needs to be filled in order to expand its GDP, adding that the country is not only borrowing from China but from other countries as well.
Besides this, he said the relationship is mutual since Kenya will be exporting its products to the Chinese market.
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