Duale, Murkomen and Rotich must resign over NYS scandal- Raila

Following former Devolution Secretary Anne Waiguru’s affidavit that implicated influential persons within the Jubilee government in the National Youth Service (NYS) graft scandal, former Prime Minister Raila Odinga has now told three leaders to resign from their appointive positions.

Raila wants National Treasury Cabinet Secretary Henry Rotich, National Assembly Majority Leader Aden Duale and Senate Deputy Majority Leader Kipchumba Murkomen to resign from their state positions until their role in the NYS saga is thoroughly investigated and established.

In a statement sent to newsrooms, he said that the three must step aside to pave way for investigations, just like other Cabinet Secretaries did in 2015.

“Other Cabinet secretaries have been made to resign out of allegations of involvement in corruption. The law that was applied in the cases of Charity Ngilu, Kazungu Kambi, Felix Koskei, Davis Chirchir and Michael Kamau must apply in the case of NYS and its suspects,” read the statement.

The opposition leader went on to say that Kenyans have lost confidence in the leaders, adding that they should step aside until they proven innocent.

“By acts of commission or omission, these leaders have shattered the confidence and trust of the Kenyan people. They need to be held to account for that. The best thing they can do for the country is to resign and pave way for investigations,” read the statement in part.

Murkomen and Duale have vehemently refuted Waiguru’s claims saying that there is no truth behind her sworn statement, and these remarks prompted the former PM to fault the two for abusing their office.

“If you are paid to represent majority of Kenyans in the National Assembly and Senate, to fight for them and to solve their problems, you cannot use that privilege to instead rip off the same Kenyans and continue to use your positions and resources made available to you by virtue of those positions, to defend yourself and rubbish those who have named you as Hon Duale and Sen Murkomen are doing. The same goes for Mr Rotich. ”

Meanwhile Amani National Congress (ANC) party leader Musalia Mudavadi has urged President Uhuru Kenyatta to bolster the war against graft.

Musalia, who spoke during a funeral in Kamimei area of Nandi County, said that the rate of graft in the country is appalling. He urged leaders who have been mentioned in corruption cases to take full responsibility without playing blame games.