Fresh storm over Waiguru’s 47 cars for women MPs

Ms Anne Waiguru, the former Devolution Cabinet Secretary. PHOTO | EVANS HABIL 

By EDWIN MUTAI, emutai@ke.nationmedia.com

In Summary

• Deputy Leader of Minority Jakoyo Midiwo plans to sponsor a motion of adjournment in Parliament to debate how the women MPs were each given a state-of-the art Chevrolet vehicle with GK registration number plates.

Former Devolution secretary Anne Waiguru is headed for another trouble with MPs following her decision to buy top of the range fuel guzzlers for 47 county women representatives.

Deputy Leader of Minority Jakoyo Midiwo said he will next week sponsor a motion of adjournment in Parliament to debate how the women MPs were each given a state-of-the art Chevrolet vehicle with GK registration number plates.

“Anne Waiguru took public funds and bought MPs vehicles. I intend to raise a substantive motion to discuss this next week,” the Gem MP said.

The MPs were handed the vehicles early this year. They were bought under the Affirmative Action and Social Empowerment Fund created under the Ministry of Devolution.

The fund, with a seed capital of Sh2 billion, was factored in the current budget at the time when the National Assembly denied Senators Sh1 billion for monitoring and evaluating the performance of county governments. 

The Devolution ministry has budgeted Sh5 billion for affirmative action activities in the financial year starting July 1.Each of the 418 members of the bi-cameral Parliament, including women representatives and nominated lawmakers, are entitled to a car grant of Sh7 million.

This means that women representatives have two top of the range cars, bought by the taxpayer at their disposal.

Mr Midiwo said the move amounts to abuse of office. “All this GKs in our parking lots is surprising. I have never boarded my CDF (Constituency Development Fund) GK registered vehicle. This is abuse of office,” the Gem MP said.

Ms Waiguru kicked off a storm on Tuesday when she filed an affidavit in court linking National Assembly majority leader Aden Duale, Elgeyo Marakwet Senator Kipchumba Murkomen and Deputy President William Ruto’s personal assistant Farouk Kibet to the theft of millions of shilling at the National Youth Service (NYS).

READ: Waiguru links Ruto aides to Sh791 million NYS theft

The former minister said the trio was among top politicians who pressurised NYS management to unfreeze accounts of firms that had allegedly benefited from the youth agencies deals.

Her affidavit was in response to one filled earlier by business woman Josephine Kabura, a suspect in the NYS scam.

In her explosive affidavit, Ms Kabura accuses Ms Waiguru of masterminding the alleged Sh791 million theft and played a role in diverting public attention and misleading investigative agencies from getting to the bottom of the scandal.