Secretary to the Cabinet Francis Kimemia speaking to the press at the
Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) offices in Nairobi on April
9, 2015 after he was questioned over corruption allegations levelled
against him. PHOTO | BILLY MUTAI |
NATION MEDIA GROUP
Two suspended Cabinet Secretaries were Thursday questioned by
the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) officials over graft
claims involving millions of shillings in the ongoing investigations
into mega corruption scandals.
Suspended Transport
Cabinet Secretary Michael Kamau and his Energy counterpart, Mr Davis
Chirchir, spent about seven hours each with the investigators. Also
interrogated was the suspended Secretary to the Cabinet, Mr Francis
Kimemia.
Mr Kimemia was the first to arrive at the
EACC headquarters in Nairobi at 8am. He was followed by Mr Kamau and Mr
Chirchir in that order.
Suspended Kenya Airports
Authority boss Lucy Mbugua also appeared before the commission and told
journalists that she had appeared to represent the authority and not
herself.
“As my person, I was not grilled on anything touching on me. I am here as CEO KAA,” she said.
On
his way out, Mr Kamau declined to comment on the interrogation and said
the issue was being handled by EACC. He is being investigated for
alleged tender award manipulation in favour of APEC Consulting, a
company that he has been associated with him. He is also alleged to have
paid out Sh700 million to another company, Aegis, for the construction
of the Garissa-Modika-Nuno road although construction work had not been
completed.
According to a source at EACC, Mr Kamau is
also being investigation in connection with interference with the
consultant’s design in the construction of the
Kamukuywa-Kaptama-Kapsokwony-Kimilili Roads.
MIKE SONKO
Mr
Chirchir who is being accused of attempting to influence the award of a
Kenya Pipeline Company tender worth $500 million to Sinopec instead of
Zkhem denied having any hand in the deal.
“Kenya
Pipeline is a parastatal that works in autonomy and as a minister I did
not have any hand to do with what happens there. I have been linked with
Senator Mbuvi. I do not know how the linkage came and I was not
questioned on that,” Mr Chirchir said.
According to
the report submitted to President Uhuru Kenyatta by EACC, the tender was
supposed to corruptly yield $15 million which was to be shared between
Mr Chirchir and Nairobi Senator Mike Sonko, who has also stepped aside
to facilitate investigations. Mr Kimemia said individuals who were
unhappy with his long stay in government were behind his woes.
“God (will) forgive those who put our names there,” he said.
EACC
officials questioned Mr Kimemia over alleged irregularities in awarding
of a tender valued at Sh1 billion at the Ministry of Interior and
Coordination of the National Government.
He was also
alleged to have used his position as Permanent Secretary in the Internal
Security Ministry in 2006 to deprive former Kenya Railways Corporation
employees of houses that had been set aside for them under a tenant
purchase scheme.
“I was not aware of the said Sh1
billion paramilitary tender. It happened after I had left for the
Cabinet,” he told journalists after appearing before the investigators.
“On the Kenya Railways houses, these are malicious allegations.”
Mrs Mbugua told journalists that she had gone to EACC to represent KAA, not herself.
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