First lady Lucy Kibaki was on Thursday cleared of any wrongdoing in the maize scandal. Her accuser, Budalangi MP Ababu Namwamba (ODM), beat a hasty retreat, offered an apology to Mrs Kibaki and the documents he produced to support his claims were ruled to be fakes.However, Agriculture minister William Ruto was not cleared of all the
allegations directed at him by Ikolomani MP Bonny Khalwale (New Ford
Kenya) and all the documents bearing the National Cereals and Produce
Board seal that linked Mr Ruto to the sale of maize were upheld by
Parliament's deputy speaker.
They included those from managers of the board allocating maize to some
individuals allegedly on the strength of a call by Mr Ruto. Others
included tables showing that the cereals board had in store 2.6 million
bags of maize in June last year and those that allocated maize to
companies and individuals that Dr Khalwale described as undeserving.
Mr Ruto had informed the House that the maize in the stores at the time
was 1.6 million bags. Mr Khalwale wanted to know what had happened to
the one million bags. It also emerged that though Mr Ruto has announced
reforms in which he claimed to have removed 14 of National and Cereals
Board's 17 managers, he at the same time appointed the managing
director of a milling company allocated more than 600,000 bags of maize
to NCPB's board of trustees.
Both the minister and the appointee when contacted denied any conflict
of interest and said the appointment was in accordance with the law.
Many of the managers announced to have been removed in the
restructuring are still in office, according to a spot check by the
Nation.
Mr Namwamba's apology came after a day in which he came increasingly
under fire from the Kibaki family. Four of the President's children
published an advertisement stating that the company Gingalili (1968)
Limited which the First Family owns, is not and never has been in the
business of buying and selling maize or any other commodities.
Mr Namwamba claimed in Parliament on Wednesday that Gingalili was among
firms that bought maize from the National Cereals and Produce Board,
which is in charge of maintaining strategic food reserve and relief
supplies. It is not illegal to buy maize from the board but in times of
famine the sale of maize is restricted to millers only.
On Wednesday, the First Family through the President's press service
described the allegations as false and meant to deflect public
attention from a serious matter of availability and affordability of
food.
On Thursday, President Kibaki's children Judith, James, David and
Anthony went public to state that Gingalili is a farm owned by the
First Family in Subukia, Nakuru, but said it focused on dairy and
vegetable farming.
Mr Namwamba on Thursday made a personal statement in the House to say
he never meant to drag the name of the First Lady into the maize-buying
scandal. He said his real intention was not to cast aspersions' on the
character of Mrs Kibaki, for whom he said he had great respect but to
ensure that the full disclosure of the matter was done.
He went on: However, the impression that has so far been created has
been misleading and a gross misinterpretation of the facts. I
therefore take the opportunity to correct the facts and save the First
Lady the pain and embarrassment that to me is regrettable.
Mr Namwamba said the fact that the company associated with the First
Lady was only allocated a mere' 500 bags of maize by the cereals board
did not suggest any impropriety in the matter. He at the same time said
there was nothing illegal to hold shares in a company or purchase maize
from the cereals board.
Deputy Speaker Farah Maalim later ruled that the documents produced by
Mr Namwamba were not genuine and that only documents bearing the seal
of the cereals board would be considered valid. That meant that the
allegations raised by the Budalangi MP against the First Lady were
expunged from the official records of the House and cleared Mrs Kibaki
of any wrongdoing.
He did not make a ruling on what punishment, if any, the House was to
impose on Mr Namwamba for introducing the name of the First Lady, who
can not defend herself on the floor, into the debate. Nor did the
Speaker rule on the sanctions for producing fake documents.
However Mr Maalim's ruling freed Mr Ruto from being linked to the
contents of emails between the managing director of African Merchants
Assurance Company (Amaco) – a company associated with the minister –
allegedly showing there were plans to purchase two million gunny bags
worth Sh153 million from an Indian Company and sell them to the board.
It also annulled the notes that were written by the minister's Personal
Assistant to the cereals board supposedly advising the managers to
allocate maize to particular individuals and companies.
Be accepted
Said Mr Maalim, Only documents with the official National Cereals and
Produce Board seal will be accepted. All other documents are to be
expunged from the Hansard. Immediately, Dr Khalwale protested at the
ruling arguing that his documents referred to more people apart from
the cereals board.
The documents I presented here have references to more people than the
NCPB and I feel they should be accepted, he said. But Mr Maalim warned
that he had made a ruling and any member who challenged it risked being
thrown out of the House.
Before the ruling, Mr Ruto and Lands minister James Orengo urged the
Deputy Speaker to reject all the documents because they had not been
presented to him before they were tabled in the House.
Mr Maalim said it was the responsibility of MPs to ensure that the
documents they tabled were genuine and directed that the Speaker must
be made aware of their contents before they were presented.
The Kibaki family responded vigorously to criticism of the First Lady,
terming it unprecedented, undignified and exceedingly shameful. The
family said it was a sad day for Kenya when an MP can use his
Parliamentary privilege to cast dishonest aspersions on the character
and dignity of innocent Kenyans who do not have the opportunity to
defend themselves in Parliament.
They added: We humbly request the Speaker of the National Assembly to
give the nation direction on this issue, as it is not the first time a
Member of Parliament is maliciously maligning Kenyans from the floor of
Parliament. The Kibakis said even going by the current low political
standards among certain politicians, the attack on the First Lady was
uncalled for.
Cannot hide
The family challenged Mr Namwamba to repeat his allegations outside
Parliament where he cannot hide behind the Parliamentary privilege.
The Kibaki children urged their mother to remain steadfast and strong
in her service to the nation. The First Lady, they said, should
continue speaking out for the many Kenyans whose voices are never heard.
Given her known attributes of tremendous integrity, courage and
determination, especially in the face of adversity, we are certain that
she will prevail, they said. They also thanked Kenyans for their kind
words of support and encouragement.
Mr Namwamba's attack on Mrs Kibaki came just a day after President
Kibaki contradicted her on the performance of Internal Security
Minister George Saitoti. While the First Lady had called for the
removal of the Kajiado North MP for allegedly failing Kenyans on the
Nakumatt and Sachang'wan fire tragedies, President Kibaki affirmed his
confidence in the former mathematics don.