NAIROBI, (Reuters) – Kenya’s foreign affairs minister and another top official in his department stepped aside under pressure yesterday to give investigators room to look into a scandal over the purchase of embassy buildings.
Four high-profile officials have now come under fire over corruption accusations this week in a sign President Mwai Kibaki’s government is stepping up its long-promised war against the graft that has blighted east Africa’s biggest economy.
Foreign Minister Moses Wetangula and his permanent secretary Thuita Mwangi have been under public and media pressure since a parliamentary committee recommended they quit and stand trial for authorising payment for new embassies at inflated prices.
Parliament overwhelmingly voted to adopt the report hours after Wetangula and Thuita voluntarily relinquished their duties. Wetangula said he was confident any investigation would exonerate him from wrongdoing.
“There is something positive to this, that we can have people like Wetangula mentioned in a report and step aside without being convicted,” said political analyst Mutahi Ngunyi.
At least six other ministers have been suspended, or have stepped aside, over graft allegations since Kibaki came to office in 2002. Five were cleared of the allegations, which never made it to court, and four regained their cabinet seats.
