• Kilonzo said Wambua should use his position as the current senator to seek action of those dipping their hand in the till.
• “There is no justification for Wambua to wait until another governor is in office. As the current senator he should take action,” he said.
Image: MUSEMBI NZENGU
Kitui Senator Enoch Wambua has been challenged to provide evidence and prioritise recovery of county funds and assets irregularly acquired by its employees.
Politician Stephen Kilonzo said it was wrong for Wambua to claim he will sign deals with governor hopefuls to ensure the winner works to recover the assets.
Kilonzo who is vying to unseat Wambua on a UDA ticket spoke on Saturday at Tseikuru trading center in Mwingi North during a town hall meeting with local leaders to popularise his bid.
He also addressed a similar meeting at Kyuso trading centre on the same day.
The senator has been accusing Governor Charity Ngilu for presiding over graft.
Kilonzo said the senator should use any evidence on the alleged misuse of funds under Ngilu’s administration, to ensure the culprits are brought to book.
“There is no justification for Wambua to wait until another governor is in office. As the current senator he should take action by liaising with relevant state authorities and providing tangible evidence,” he said.
Last Thursday, Wambua told a meeting at Inyuu trading centre in Kitui East that he planned to sign a pre-election agreement with those seeking the Kitui gubernatorial seat.
The pact is for aspirants to commit themselves to pursue those involved in plunder of public coffers during governor Ngilu’s era and recover any resources lost.
Wambua spoke in the heels of revelation by the auditor general that the Kitui government has not been able to account for public funds.
Nancy Gathungu further fingered Ngilu’s administration for shoddily done public projects.
However, Kilonzo said instead of crying foul and making public statements, being the current senator, Wambua should have acted pro-actively by ensuring that all loopholes to mismanage county funds were plugged.
He said better still Wambua should ensure the alleged thieves are arrested and charged in court.
Kilonzo said should he be elected senator on August 9th, he would be pro-active in protecting county resources from plunder.
“We will ensure that all measures are put in place to forestall any attempts to misuse public funds,” he said.
Kilonzo said he was not taking on Wambua for the Kitui senatorial seat because he had anything personal with him but because he was out to offer better leadership.
"When Wambua won in the 2017 polls, I congratulated and shook hands with him. I promised to challenge him for the seat if he failed to serve our people satisfactorily. I told him I will dethrone him come 2022," he said.
(Edited by Bilha Makokha)