KENYA: Minister of Foreign Affairs Moses Wetang'ula steps aside as corruption allegations against him are investigated

Record ID: 361952

  • Title: KENYA: Minister of Foreign Affairs Moses Wetang'ula steps aside as corruption allegations against him are investigated
  • Date: 28th October 2010
  • Summary: NAIROBI, KENYA (OCTOBER 27, 2010) (REUTERS) EXTERIOR OF KENYAN MINISTRY OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS VARIOUS OF JOURNALISTS AT NEWS CONFERENCE (SOUNDBITE) (English) KENYA FOREIGN MINISTER, MOSES WETANG'ULA, SAYING: ''I want to tell Kenyans with a clear conscience and clarity of mind that this afternoon, I have made a personal decision to step aside from my responsibilities and
  • Embargoed: 12th November 2010 12:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Kenya
  • Country: Kenya
  • Topics: Crime / Law Enforcement,Domestic Politics
  • Reuters ID: LVADKLVTQ7XNRZ0VHCVO84OYHD1Q
  • Story Text: Kenya's Minister of Foreign Affairs, Moses Wetang'ula, stepped aside on Wednesday (October 27), after legislators recommended he left his post ahead of investigations into an alleged scam involving the purchase of foreign embassy buildings.
    ''I want to tell Kenyans with a clear conscience and clarity of mind that this afternoon, I have made a personal decision to step aside from my responsibilities and my appointment as Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Kenya to give room and pleasure to those who have been haunting and tormenting me for the last three, four weeks, to give room to the very able arms of investigation,'' Wetang'ula said at a news conference in the Kenyan capital of Nairobi.
    Investigators had recommended he quit and stand trial for the loss of $14 million in a deal to buy a new embassy in Japan -- in what they said appeared to be a scam.
    He is the fourth senior official in Kenya to be hit by a corruption scandal this week.
    But Wetang'ula maintained his innocence on Wednesday and said he expected to be cleared of any wrongdoing once investigations are complete.
    "I assure you without any fear of contradiction that my innocence is guaranteed because I am absolutely clear that I have played no role in the formulation or execution or in any manner in the transactions that have been talked about," he said.
    Shortly before Wetangula's announcement, his permanent secretary, Thuita Mwangi, was also given permission to leave his post temporarily.
    Kenyan President Mwai Kibaki came to power in 2002 on an anti-graft platform, and at least seven ministers have been suspended or resigned over corruption allegations since he took office.
    A study published earlier this month by Transparency International-Kenya showed that 97 percent of Kenyans view corruption as a big problem in a country that has so far failed to jail senior public officials for graft.
    Emerging market analysts closely follow Transparency International (TI) annual Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI), which this year ranks Kenya eight places lower and nearer to countries with a legacy of conflict that continue to dominate the bottom rungs of the list of 178 states.
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