The state of the nation address yesterday afternoon by president Uhuru Kenyatta in which he mentioned key government officials in graft allegations has elicited mixed reactions from all social strata in the country.
The bold move by the president was indescribable, with everyone expecting him to give a blind eye to his close allies. On the contrary, he directed that the ‘big fish’ including his pals, to step aside for investigation.
“I hereby direct that all officials of the national and county governments that are adversely mentioned in this report, whether you are a cabinet secretary, principal secretary, or chief executive of a state institution, to immediately step aside pending conclusion of the investigations of the allegations against them. I expect the other arms of government, namely the legislature and judiciary, to do the same,” said President Kenyatta.
Naturally Kenyans on Twitter commonly referred to as (KOT) and Facebook could not cease from drawing fun from it all. Business Today sampled trending reactions from some public figures and other social media platform users on the list of shame and came up with the below responses:
Boni Khalwale on Twitter: govt is ‘raping the country the same way it’s raping our women’
Caroline Mutoko: #ListOfShame …And then…? Unless s’one is charged, goes to court & jailed…it’s just a list. #Makecorruptionhurt.
Facebook user: I haven’t seen Private Developer Singh being mentioned in the #GraftWatchList from the President’s #StateoftheNation Speech…not even his code-name. I call it “selective grafting”…A big podium, Huge roar, pure rhetoric- a calculated drop down menu of carcasses. At least the Landlady got a mention.
But we need Mr Singh. While some made stire out of it;
“Hussein bin Machozi was missing in that list” #ListOfShame, other gave superficial analysis of the composition of the graft list, one Facebook user said, “Now I have comprehended why DP William Ruto (Okuodo) wasn’t happy with Uhuru’s speech in Parliament yesterday.
Maryanne Keitany – Deputy President’s Chief of Staff is among the scavengers and vultures in bogus EACC report. Those mentioned in the report are the sons of this country who in one way or the other have been opposing the Chupilee regime”#ObangeSeniorCounsel .
KOT: The politicians who clapped loudest n praised the speech did so not coz they even listened but coz their names didn’t appear #ListOfShameKOT: I can never be excited over the #ListOfShame ! Lenku was dismissed and given a job! This guys (SIC) are gonna be hired elsewhere.
Prominent figures appearing in the graft list include Principal Secretaries Mutea Iringo (Defence), Francis Kimemia (Secretary to the Cabinet) and Geothermal Development Corporation MD Silas Simiyu, Cabinet Secretaries Eng Michael Kamau (Transport and Roads), Charity Ngilu (Land, Housing and Urban Development), David Chirchir (Energy and Petroleum.
Governor Isaac Rutto (Bomet) who recently had a spat with the DP William Ruto branding the DP as a dictator unfit to rule ‘for obvious reasons also made it to the list alongside his compatriots, Dr Evans Kidero (Nairobi), Hassan Joho (Mombasa County), Alfred Mutua (Machakos). Also mentioned in the list are Senators James Orengo (Siaya) and Johnstone Muthama of Machakos.
MPs include Richard Onyonka (Kitutu Chache South), Jimmy Angwenyi (Kitutu Chache North), Alfred Keter (Nandi Hills), and Sanjeev Birdi (Nominated, URP). All members of the Parliamentary Accounts Committee (PAC) have also been told to step aside over their alleged links to corruption.
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