Mwakwere cleared in EACC graft probe

By: OLIVE BURROWS 2 min read
Mwakwere has been under investigation by the EACC on suspicion of involvement in the irregular acquisition of Kenya Railways Corporation houses/FILE
Mwakwere has been under investigation by the EACC on suspicion of involvement in the irregular acquisition of Kenya Railways Corporation houses/FILE

NAIROBI, Kenya, May 17 – No corruption charges will be preferred against Kenya’s Ambassador to Tanzania Chirau Ali Mwakwere after the Director of Public Prosecutions Keriako Tobiko found that there is insufficient evidence against him to sustain prosecution.

Mwakwere has been under investigation by the EACC on suspicion of involvement in the irregular acquisition of Kenya Railways Corporation houses when he was Transport Minister in Mwai Kibaki’s government.

Charges he denied when he appeared before the commission for questioning.

“I have never ever committed such crimes… I have never sold or rented a Kenya Railway house; if anything they should be grateful that I took care of the asset as the Minister for Transport,” he defended himself.

READ: Mwakwere fires salvo at EACC over list of shame

At the time he also took issue with the way the matter was handled; his inclusion in the infamous #ListOfShame by the EACC and which was later made public before the accusations levelled against him were properly investigated.

“It hurts because you’re presumed innocent until proven guilty. In this instance, I was pronounced guilty before even being asked for my side of the story,” he said.

READ: 5 Cabinet Secretaries, 12 Governors in EACC graft list

Tobiko who says he received the EACC file on Mwakwere on Friday has denied receiving any files on the suspended Cabinet Secretaries and Principal Secretaries under investigation for graft.

This is contrary to earlier reports that the EACC had recommended to the DPP the prosecution of three of the five suspended Cabinet Secretaries.

READ: EACC wants three ministers, PSs charged

The EACC has less than two weeks left to meet the 60 day deadline President Uhuru Kenyatta gave for it to complete its investigations into public servants accused of corruption.

The DPP has however already endorsed its recommendation for the prosecution of Nandi Hills MP Alfred Keter and his nominated counterpart Sunjeev Birdi who were included in the #ListOfShame for demanding that the law be broken in their favour at the Gilgil weighbridge.

READ: MPs Keter and Birdi in court to block arrest, prosecution

OLIVE BURROWS

OLIVE BURROWS

With a decade of storytelling under her belt, Olive Burrows has been with Capital FM for the last four years and perhaps most notably interviewed US President Barack Obama. Committed to asking the hard questions and telling the story in the most engaging way possible, she has also interviewed Melinda Gates, a UK Minister and severally had the opportunity to sit across from President Uhuru Kenyatta and address the pressing issues of the day. Other notables she has had occasion to seek answers from are UN Secretary General António Guterres and John Kerry in his time as US Secretary of State.