Former CS Waiguru moves to clear name over NYS scandal

Former Devolution Cabinet Secretary Anne Waiguru has moved to clear her name over the loss of a revised figure of Ksh1.8 billion at the National Youth Service.

Appearing before the Public Accounts Committee on Thursday, Waiguru began her submission by refuting claims made by businesswoman Josephine Kabura on Tuesday’s session that she got NYS tenders with the help of Waiguru when she was cabinet secretary for Devolution.

Kabura had, after much pressing, admitted to knowing Waiguru saying they met back in 2002, after which she introduced her to the procurement businesses and later helped her get NYS deals.

But in a stern pronouncement, Waiguru said she had never met Kabura and denied any links to her business operations.

“I would like to state clearly that I have never seen Kabura neither have I ever met her, even before I was Cabinet Secretary.

“There is no text, call or any correspondent to confirm that we knew each other, and the investigating agencies can confirm that.”

Waiguru claimed that Kabura was being used by cartels to taint her name and drag her into the NYS scandal.

She noted that the concerted effort by other individuals mentioned into the scandal to pin the fault on her was as a result of her unprecedented move to stop theft at the Ministry of Devolution.

“It is not strange that most of those individuals who have appeared before this committee have adversely mentioned my name in connection to the loss of NYS money.

“The bitterness emanates from the fact that I called the CID to investigate the fraud at the Ministry and exposed their misdeeds to the public.”

Some of the people that Waiguru was referring to were former Principal Secretary in the Ministry of Devolution Peter Mangiti, former NYS Director General Nelson Githinji, businessman Ben Gethi and Kabura.

She claimed that it was during the period that Githinji was in AIE holder that the NYS lost Ksh791 million, claiming things changed for the better for the role was transferred to Deputy Director General Aden Harakhe.

As Cabinet Secretary, Waiguru said, she could not have known that there were plans to loot money from NYS, noting that she informed the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI0 of the fraud immediately it was brought to her attention.

It was during investigations that DCI noticed that Ksh791 million had already been stolen in a scam that allegedly ran deep in the ministry.

She said that the backlash that she has received from the public and political leaders has scared other government officials from revealing corruption in their ministries saying there is need to depoliticize issues of corruption.