Matiangi, Senate in a bitter exchange on Sh3.2 saga of Ruaraka lands :: Kenya

A cabinet secretary and a chairman of the parliamentary committee engaged in a war of words yesterday about the Sh3.2 billion Ru Sharaka saga.

The bitter exchanges between the Secretary of the Interior Cabinet Fred Matiang & i and the Chairman of the Committee on Investments and Public Accounts of the Senate, Moses Kajwang, took place the same day that the Ethics Commission and to fight corruption own on the same subject.

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This highlights the intrigues that surrounded the probe.

The long-standing investigation saw two cabinet secretaries appear to indict Dr. Matiang & # 39; i. This coupled with the fact that the Director of Public Prosecutions has referred the case to the EACC on three occasions over the past two months, highlighting the complex nature of the investigation.

Yesterday, the committee canceled a hearing after the failure of Matiang & # 39; i. The CS, through the intermediary of an badistant, later stated that he was not aware of the invitation to appear before the deputies. He alleged a political plan to drag his name into questionable transactions.

"There was no invitation to the CS, and if they insisted, there was one telling them to show you the letter." The Regulations also require that one witness had at least seven days to appear, so even if the letter in question was there, they never gave him the necessary time, "said the director of communications of the Ministry of the Interior, Mwenda Njoka. people who are out to fight the CS.The chairman of the National Land Commission, Muhammad Swazuri, said that there was a political plan against the CS, "Njoka added.

But Mr. Kajwang insisted that he wrote to the CS on July 27 and that the letter was received by the Ministry of the Interior. He said the committee would now write its report without the contribution of Matiang & # 39; i.

He said it was not the role of the committee to "follow the CS in the funeral" so that he received letters sent to his office.

"I do not want to enter into an exchange with the CS because I wrote the letter that was received and stamped by his office.If a CS decides to attend a funeral all week it is not our responsibility that he was not at the office to read the letter, "Kajwang said.

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disinfect

"We invited him to respond to what CS Amina said because he was mentioned in a negative way, and anyone who talks about a political plan should have considered Invitation as an opportunity for him to disinfect himself because he was mentioned in a negative way, "added the legislator.

But last night, Njoka said that the letter had been received at 4:30 pm but that the SC should appear in the morning.

Last week, Amina accused Matiang & # 39; i and Senior Secretary of Education, Belio Kipsang, of ignoring an internal report that advised against compensating the land because of badignment of public utility.

"We have provided you with the report of our team.We have provided it because we believe it is true and factual.It is the facts and the recommendations are there," said Ms Amina. , who succeeded Matiang & # 39; i at Jogoo House.

The working group of John Ololtuaa, regional coordinator of education in Nairobi, found that the lands on which the Ruaraka and Drive-In secondary schools had been built were surrendered due to the fact that they had been destroyed. public utility.

In its four-point recommendation, the task force advised the department not to make any payments.

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"Having been a surrendered part of land for public purpose, the panel found that the plaintiff had no basis for compensation of the earth, "reads the report.

Farida Karoney, secretary of the Land Cabinet, also criticized the process as unfounded in an apparent indictment of officials from the Department of Education and the NLC.

Swazuri, Belio, Karoney, Amina, Nairobi Governor Mike Sonko and director of Afrison Francis Mburu – who claims ownership of the land – have all appeared before two committees, many times.

It is however curious to note that Matiang's did not appear before the parliamentary committees to provide evidence to the acquisition of school grounds although he wrote to Swazuri to initiate the process.

The first correspondence in land acquisition came from Swazuri who wrote to Matiang & # 39; i on August 29, 2016, informing the Ministry of Complaints of Afrison and Huelands Ltd that both schools occupied the lands since 1984 and 1987 respectively.

And on March 17 of last year, Matiang 'i wrote to Swazuri asking him to start the process of acquiring land for both schools in the city.

DPP Noordin Haji instructed EACC to work closely with DCI investigators when he recently referred the case to Integrity Center. But the two agencies are locked in a territorial war.