Just last week, President Uhuru Kenyatta addressed the people of Kenya and told them that he had done everything in his power to fight the scourge of corruption in this country.
The President said the reason we are not seeing any progress in this fight is because the independent constitutional offices and commissions entrusted with various powers to tackle corruption had failed to deliver on their mandate.
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Kenyans had barely come to terms with this abdication of authority by the President when we now have to deal with a new scandal – the loss of Sh5.3 billion at the Ministry of Health.
The details of this scandal are beginning to raise doubts about the President’s innocence in what is happening around him with regard to theft of public funds.
It is now emerging that one of the companies mentioned – Estama Ltd…which was paid to supply 100 container clinics at Sh1 million each, and which were never supplied, is associated with people in the Presidency.
Another company is associated with President Kenyatta’s immediate family members. Yet another is associated with his close friends and confidants.
Sundales International Ltd., which was paid Sh41 million, features Kathleen Kihanya, Nyokabi Muthama and Samson Kamiri.
Life Care Medics, which earned Sh201 million, is associated with Richard Ngatia and Paul Ndung’u.
The President cannot claim to know nothing about these individuals. And Kenyans know who these people are to the President.
We are getting a feeling that President Kenyatta is not as innocent as he has tried to portray himself to the public in the massive theft crippling the country.
This scandal is President Kenyatta’s scandal. He must deal with it as such. He must tell the country what he knows, when he knew it and what he did when he knew it.
That is what makes this latest theft as heartless as any can be.
It touches not only one area that is critical to our well being as a nation, but also where we have been doing badly.
Jubilee has refused to devolve the funds and has had hospitals under the county governments undertake treatment and then be reimbursed.
All along, Jubilee stuck to this programme under the guise that it is a significant matter that needed the direct attention of the national government with close supervision by the Presidency. It is now clear Jubilee hung on to this simply as an opportunity to steal from Kenyans.
The President cannot run away from this scam.
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