Carry your own cross, DP Ruto tells officials implicated in corruption

Deputy President William Ruto has admitted that funds were lost in the National Youth Service scandal and asked suspects to be prepared to carry their own cross.

The DP who was speaking in Nyeri said the government that has increasingly come under heavy criticism over its handling of corruption cases will not shield anyone from prosecution, even as the opposition accused it of paying lip service to the fight against graft.

“When we know that theft of public funds has happened as it deed in the NYS presided over by Waiguru, we have admitted and we have taken action as government,” he said.

The deputy president’s statement becomes the highest-placed admission by a government official that in deed funds were lost in the NYS project.

Although the DP did not directly implicate Waiguru, his emphasis that the money was lost while NYS was under her docket are loaded with political overtones, coming two days after the former devolution cabinet secretary implicated Ruto’s confidants in her woes.

When she appeared before Public Accounts Committee on Thursday, Waiguru named the DP’s personal assistant Farouk Kibet and Elegeyo Marakwet Senator Kipchumba Murkomen among those who allegedly were in constant communication with Ben Gethi, a key suspect in the NYS fraud.

In his defense, Gethi has claimed that Waiguru was at the center of the Ksh1.67 billion scam.

But the DP now says suspects caught with their hands in the public till must suffer the consequences.

“We have said that we are distancing ourselves from theft and we have taken people to court and they must carry their cross,” said the DP.

Eleven suspects are in court over the Ksh791 million NYS scandal, among them the former NYS Director General Nelson Githinji and former Devolution Permanent Secretary Peter Mangiti while Waiguru had been listed as a prosecution witness in the case.

Ruto, who speaking in Nyeri, accused the opposition of baseless obsession with criticism of government projects.

“We are an open government and we don’t hide, if there is a mistake we admit it. They told us the other day that there was some money lost in the ministry of health but it is not true,” said the DP.

On Friday, Odinga claimed that the Ksh33 billion Mau Water project was yet another Jubilee Administration scandal

“The project will shift water from Lake victoria catchment to the Nakuru basin, why so much water is being diverted to Nakuru is a subject we will address later,” said Raila.