• Faki on Thursday said they are being targeted by the very thieves they are investigating and are close to unearthing.
• Says money alleged to have been stolen could have assisted the government in fighting the Covid-19 pandemic.
Image: BRIAN OTIENO
Mombasa Senator Mohammed Faki has distanced himself from the multi-billion-shilling theft of the Covid-19 funds, which has kicked up a storm in the country.
Faki, who is among the seven senators claimed to have benefited from the tenders from the Kenya Medical Supplies Authority, on Thursday said they are being targeted by the very thieves they are investigating and are close to unearthing.
“I have not received any tender from Kemsa. If somebody has any evidence that I received a tender, let them bring it out."
“We are being targeted because we are members of the Senate Covid-19 Ad Hoc Committee and we are the people who are investigating the Kemsa issues,” Faki said.
He spoke in Mombasa shortly before flying off to Nairobi for a meeting between the Senate Covid-9 Ad Hoc Committee and Senate Health Committee over the Kemsa scandal.
“Those saying we have benefited from these tenders are the very thieves who are now shouting “Thief! Thief!” as we close in on them,” Faki said.
Asked about President Uhuru’s statement on the Kemsa saga during his address to the nation on Wednesday, Faki said he should have acted earlier.
“This is something that is long overdue. The allegations of corruption against Kemsa have been in the public domain for a long time.
“The concerned state agencies - the DCI and the EACC - must pull up their socks to unravel what actually happened,” he said.
He said the money alleged to have been stolen could have assisted the government in fighting the Covid-19 pandemic.
“We may not congratulate President Uhuru (for ordering a crackdown on those involved), but we say that the action was long overdue and should have been taken about two or three weeks ago when these problems started,” the senator said.
He condemned the police for meting brutality against demonstrators who have been raising their voices against the alleged theft of the Covid-19 funds.
Instead, the police should be providing security for them, he noted.
On Tuesday, at least six rights activists in Mombasa were arrested and beaten up by police for protesting against the theft of Covid funds donated to Kenya by the international community.
The six, led by Muhuri rapid response officer Francis Auma, were charged with engaging in a prohibited gathering, failing to maintain physical distance of not less than one metre from another person, and failure to wear face mask.
They appeared before Mombasa senior resident magistrate R Amwayi and released on a Sh20,000 cash bail each.
They will next appear before court on September 8 for mention.
Muhuri chairman Khelef Khalifa said the arrests show that the police service is not independent.
"The police are taking political instructions from somewhere," he said.
He condemned the arrests saying they are a result of the impunity the Jubilee government has "adopted as a norm".
Faki, who is also an advocate, said: “We are in a new constitutional dispensation where the right to picket or demonstrate is provided for under our constitution.”
He said demonstrators only need to notify police over the demos so as to be provided with security.
“They are within their rights to demonstrate. They have a right to complain to complain when public funds are misused or stolen and therefore whatever they did was nothing but in compliance with the law.
“The police had no right to beat the demonstrators, arrest them or disperse them,” Faki said.
Khalifa said they notified the police, who refused to receive the notification officially.
Faki said this is wrong.
“The police cannot refuse to accept the notification because it is the legal procedure. The police have to act within the law.
“Theirs is to receive the notification. If there are any reasons why the demonstrations cannot happen then they should inform them in advance and give them an alternative day when the demos can be done,” Faki said.
Edited by EKibii