I am the Moses Wasamu that your columnist Wycliffe Muga refers to in his article today (22nd, Feb. 2010), on page 14. I would like to thank Muga for acknowledging that I had valid arguments in my letter that appeared in the Star newspaper a couple of weeks back.
However, I want to differ with him on the basis of what he writes about today. He writes about the “massive thefts of Free Primary Education project funds”. This is in relation to the alleged stealing of funds by officials in the ministry of education, funds which were to fund free primary education.
Muga says that President Mwai Kibaki will have to get rid of the Minister, Prof. Sam Ongeri, and the Permanent Secretary, Prof. Karega Mutahi, because the tide of public opinion, donor concerns and the assertiveness of parliament will not allow him to sleep easy while the two gentlemen are still at the helm in the ministry.
And this is where our point of departure starts. Whereas I agree that the two professors need to go, I don’t agree with his comment that President Kibaki will heed the voice of the people and do away with the two gentlemen. Muga seems to be so naïve in as far as the President’s decision making is concerned.
Past experience shows that the President will do nothing of the sort Muga talks about. The President has never taken any action against a Minister suspected of corruption or whose ministry has been involved in the same. The President as usual, will treat with contempt all those who may even suggest that he sacks the two gentlemen!
In the instances where the President did ask (of course under extreme pressure) some of his ministers to quit (Chris Murungaru, George Saitoti, Amos Kimunya, David Mwiraria), it was only for a short while and for the purpose of buying time. Eventually, these men went back to the cabinet and none of them has ever been charged for any offence committed while serving under KibakiPresident Kibaki’s previous political dealings are what I base my arguments on. He is beholden to ethnic and political manipulation which will not allow him to either sack Prof. Ongeri or Prof. Mutahi. I wonder what Muga is basing his argument on. Justice Aaron Ringera was forced out because the president had no choice. He was cornered. But in the present case, there is no way parliament will force the president to act on the two professors.The president is known to have a thick skin and is averse to the public’s demand for him to take action. Just the other day he refused to go to participate in the much-talked about tree planting exercise in Mau forest. Does Muga really believe that Kibaki will listen to the vox populi (voice of the people), which is vox dei (voice of God)?
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