RAILA, RUTO TRADE ACUSSATIONS OVER CORRUPTION

Deputy President William Ruto has told politicians questioning the Jubilee administration’s seriousness in fighting corruption to shut up.

Mr Ruto, who was speaking yesterday at a funds drive at the AIC Missionary College in Kapsoya, Uasin Gishu County, said the Jubilee administration was trying to “clear the mess left by previous regimes”.

Referring to Cord leader Raila Odinga’s remarks that President Uhuru Kenyatta’s leadership was incapable of tackling corruption, Mr Ruto said scandals such as Anglo Leasing “were hatched when some of them served in Narc or the Grand Coalition government”.

“They should shut up as we try to clear their mess,” said the Deputy President.

In an interview with the Sunday Nation on Saturday, Mr Odinga charged that President Kenyatta’s administration was playing public relations politics as corruption spiralled out of control.

NO COMMITMENT

“There is no commitment to fight corruption by the top leadership. “The cancer continues to spread but there has not been any attempt to address the matter since the Jubilee government took over,” said Mr Odinga.

Mr Ruto said the allegations were insincere. “Those telling us about the fight against corruption are insincere. They were there when the IEBC (Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission) and the EACC (Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission) were established,” said Mr Ruto.

He said Jubilee was serious about rooting out corruption, stressing President Kenyatta’s recent warning.

“We are clear with the President that we will not defend anyone in government, whether in Cabinet or in parastatals, who is engaged in corruption.

“Those engaging in graft will be held responsible as individuals.”

The Executive would not interfere with investigations, he said, but challenged institutions mandated with fighting corruption to deliver.

VERY CLEAR

“The Constitution is very clear in the fight against corruption. It establishes institutions with a clear mandate. Those institutions must deliver on that mandate,” said the DP.

The government had provided sufficient resources and support to all institutions, including the office of Auditor-General, the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission and the Judiciary, to make sure they work, according to Mr Ruto.

He accused opposition MPs of perpetuating corruption in some of the Parliamentary committees.

“They should start searching their souls before they point fingers at us. They should join us in making sure that we get rid of corruption which has become a cancer in our country.”

Mr Ruto said no one would be spared when the institutions mandated to fight graft name individuals implicated in corruption.