ODM to probe maize scandal

By Isaac Ongiri and Vincent Bartoo

Beleaguered Agriculture Minister William Ruto continued to be swamped by pressure to quit — from the floor of Parliament to the maize fields of Eldoret.

More pressure continued in Parliament, with Ikolomani MP Bonny Khalwale (New Ford-K) who first implicated Mr Ruto. Last night, Dr Khalwale filed a notice of censure against Ruto.

“I am pushing with the idea of having this minister (Ruto) censured. I am sure I will succeed. I have secured unimaginable number of support from concerned colleagues,” Khalwale told The Standard.

On Monday night, Raila formed the committee, comprising Cabinet Ministers Helen Sambili (Sport), James Orengo (Lands) and Paul Otuoma (Fisheries) and Assistant ministers Dhadho Godana (Information) and James Gesami (Public Health and Sanitation).

The five have been meeting every day this week and are expected to present their findings to the PM soon.

Separately, the Kenya Anti-Corruption Commission interrogated several MPs in connection with irregular purchase of maize from the National Cereals and Produce Board (NCPB).

Carried placards

But it was the group of placard-waving farmers in the North Rift that surprised Ruto’s supporters when they demonstrated outside the Eldoret NCPB and carried placards calling for his resignation.

The farmers said they stopped delivering maize to NCPB because of the involvement of brokers and low prices.

Some demonstrators also called on “Kibaki and Raila act on corruption at the Ministry of Agriculture”.

Mr Nicholas Maiyo, one of the demonstrators, said: “If he cannot resign, the President and the Prime Minister should do something because we are equally suffering from this mess.”

But elsewhere in the town, ten civic leaders rallied to Ruto’s defence, saying he was being targeted by cartels in the agricultural sector.

The councillors said it was all a plan to deny Ruto a chance to contest the presidency in 2012.

But while the public displays came and went as soon as they started, perhaps Ruto should be more worried by the audit ordered by the Prime Minister.

Team given one week

Yesterday, a member of the committee investigating the maize scam, who spoke to The Standard on condition of anonymity, said the committee would hand over its report to the PM next week.

The party has also put MPs on high alert, with a parliamentary group meeting scheduled soon after the report is handed to the PM.

“It is a matter of national concern. We are looking at it keenly, just to make sure we, as a party, understand what really took place and whether the minister played any role,” said another member of the committee.

The ODM team has already met some civil servants in the Prime Minister’s office who have been implicated in the scandal.

“We have met some people and we are going to meet all the mentioned MPs from our party. We must be ready to trace this scandal with care,” said an insider.

MPs expected to meet the ODM committee are Mr Isaac Ruto (Chepalungu), Mr Sammy Mwaita (Baringo Central), Mr Pollyns Ochieng’ (Nyakach), Mr Fred Kapondi (Mt Elgon) and Mr Magerer Lang’at (Kipkelion).

The Agriculture minister has already given his account to the committee.

Broke ranks

Meanwhile, Justice and Constitutional Affairs Assistant Minister William Cheptumo yesterday broke ranks with his boss, Ms Martha Karua, over calls for Ruto to resign.

Karua had challenged Ruto to explain why subsidised maize was sold to unauthorised businesspeople.

But Cheptumo appealed to leaders to stop condemning individuals before due process.

“I fear we are developing a culture of condemning people, prosecuting and sentencing them unheard. We are a country which believes in the rule of law and we should be able to abide by this,” said Cheptumo in an interview.

The assistant minister asked those who have evidence against Ruto to take it to KACC, which is investigating the matter.

“Until the investigations are over, let us not condemn the minister. Let us handle this matter soberly and not emotionally,” said Cheptumo.

In a related development, Cabinet Minister and ODM Secretary-General Anyang’ Nyong’o sent a statement to newsrooms distancing himself from a memo that he claimed had been circulating on the Internet, and which he said had been forged with the purpose of tarnishing the names of ODM leaders.

“This is cheap politics and should be treated with the contempt it deserves,” Prof Nyong’o said.

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