Kenya needs a Magufuli to fight cartels, corruption – Charity Ngilu

Former Lands Cabinet Secretary Charity Ngilu has decried the rampant cases of corruption bedeviling the government, saying the country needs a John Pombe Magufuli-like leader to tame the vices.

Speaking on Citizen TV’s Cheche on Wednesday, Ngilu stated that the country’s economy has been held hostage by cartels that are behind the lag in development projects and an increase in cases of corruption.

Magufuli has received praises from different quarters over the stringent measures that he has put in place to tame corruption in Tanzania and improve service delivery.

In more than one occasion, the Tanzanian president has suspended government officials over corruption allegations and even cancelled public holidays in a bid to channel the funds to development projects.

Jubilee on the other hand has been widely condemned over cases of corruption that have rocked the President Uhuru Kenyatta-led government in the three years of governance, including alleged loss of millions at the National Youth Service and Youth Enterprise Development Fund and the apparent theft of Eurobond money.

The Narc leader obliquely attributed her woes in the ministry of land and the eventual exit to cartels who were uncomfortable with her cleanup exercise at the ministry and digitization of records for fear of being exposed.

“There are some people who have keys to the lifts at the Ministry of Lands and can come in, access the files they want and leave whenever they want. These are the same people who were fighting for my removal from office because I was putting in place systems that would paralyse their illegal operations,” she claimed.

The Kitui governorship aspirant further pointed at laxity by the Jubilee Government to deliver on its mandate saying most of the pledges they had made to Kenyans are nowhere close to being implemented.

“We processed 1.2 million title deeds and to date that number has not increased. This shows where the government stands regarding the implementation of its pledges to the people.”

He claimed that, in one occasion, her efforts to stop construction work on the Langata Primary School was hampered by presence of security officers at the scene.

“How do you explain the presence of police officers at the site of illegal construction? Isn’t it evident that the owner of the structure is positioned in a high office?” She questioned.

Ngilu however fell short of stating that President Kenyatta abandoned her during her ‘battle for survival’ choosing her words carefully.

“The president knew what I was doing at the ministry of lands and the opposition that I felt. I however cannot judge him on the handling of the situation since he was also facing cases at the ICC.”

She blamed the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) for confiscating the original documents of the Karen land saying it is their actions that led her to court and eventual suspension.

Ngilu however claimed that she has not, up to date, received communication from State House regarding her sacking, saying she is not on salary but enjoys government security.

She called on women to support each other in positions of leadership in order to ensure a change in governance.

“A lot of effort went into empowering women, training them and ensuring they enter politics. In 2013, if Martha Karua had the support that CORD and Jubilee, she would have won,” said Charity Ngilu.

Ngilu said the Gender Rule Bill to be debated on Thursday has faced opposition not only from male MPs but also their female counterparts saying even if the Bill does not pass, they should not give up the fight.

The Narc leader was appointed into cabinet after losing Kitui senatorial seat to the incumbent David Musila of Wiper who garnered 156,690 votes over the former’s 111,447 votes.

She was however dismissed after her name appeared in the EACC ‘list of shame’ over allegations of corruption in connection to the Karen land and Waitiki land saga. Ngilu has however denied the allegations.

@benjaminwafula