Former Prime Minister Raila Odinga yesterday old off politicians whom he said are defending the theft of billions of shillings meant to build dams in the Kerio Valley.
Raila said money has been stolen and investigations are going on.
“If we are talking about the theft of [funds] for the dams and figures are there, don’t come and tell us that it is not Sh20 billion but it is only Sh7 billion. Let the investigating authorities complete their investigations,” he said.
“Who are you to tell us? How did you know? You are the thief who is trying to show us that the other person is the thief running away. Give us a break.”
It was an indirect but clear reference to Deputy President William Ruto who said ‘only’ Sh7 billion was in question and the taxpayer had not lost a cent since loans were guaranteed.
Raila spoke in Kirinyaga when he addressed the Sixth Annual Devolution Conference. He said the time has come for Kenyans to say enough is enough to corruption and that nobody is above the law.
“And as the President said yesterday, if you have evidence against him take it [to the DCI]. Give me any evidence against the President and I will take it up myself, if you are afraid,” he added.
Referring to a claim by one Rift Valley MP that President Kenyatta had stolen too, Raila equated that to a thief who when chased in the streets points to an innocent man running away as the thief to mislead the public.“Eventually, he is caught and the poor guy is punished because the thief has basically gone scot-free,” he said. The former PM said all declared development goals would not be achieved unless corruption is curbed.
He cited examples of heads of state and government resigning or serving jail terms after being implicated in corruption, saying Kenya should emulate those countries
“We hear about mega corruption and these tales are not fiction but facts. But when this happens the battle is highly politicised,” he said.
He said instead of politicians leaving the institutions charged with responsibility to deal with the vice, they go to funerals to claim their communities are being targeted.
Raila also repeated his proposal for a a three-tier government estalished through constitutional reforms.