Nyatike Member of Parliament Tom Odege has justified President Uhuru Kenyatta’s reluctance to fire Cabinet Secretaries (CSs) linked to various corruption scandals.
Uhuru has been under pressure to sack CSs implicated in graft in his quest to make the nation a graft-free republic.
However, Odege on Monday noted that Uhuru only nominated half of the CSs, the rest being nominees of his deputy William Ruto, which to some extent leaves his hands tied.
He noted that this makes it hard to fire CSs hailing from the other faction, especially at a time when the DP has openly castigated the corruption purge.
“Walipochukua uongozi waligawana viti vya mawaziri, kwa hivyo itakuwa vigumu kwa Uhuru kuwafuta mawaziri wengine, hasa wale ambao ni wa upande wa Ruto bila upinzani. (The cabinet is divided between the two, meaning that Uhuru will find it difficult to fire some CSs without facing opposition, especially if he sacks DP Ruto’s allies),” he noted.
The MP was speaking on Radio Maisha’s Bunge La Maisha show on Monday morning.
The Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) lawmaker said that the situation was different in the case of former Sports CS Rashid Echesa who fired a few weeks ago.
He noted that Echesa, despite being Ruto’s ally was meant to go at some point as he was not fit for the job from the word go.
“Yule Echesa hakuwa na namna nyingine maana hangefaa awe hapo kutoka mwanzo. (Echesa’s case was a done deal from the start. He wasn’t even qualified in the first place),” said the MP.
Cabinet Secretaries being investigated over corruption scandals include Simon Chelugui (Water), Henry Rotich (Treasury), Najib Balala (Tourism) and Mwangi Kiunjuri (Agriculture).