Dennis Itumbi, the Head of Presidential Special Projects and Creative Economy, has launched a scathing attack on the Daily Nation newspaper, accusing it of deliberately misreporting and fabricating facts.
He made these comments after the paper published a report linking whistleblower Andrew Rotich to the loss of his position at the Social Health Authority (SHA).
In a statement released on Friday, Itumbi dismissed the Daily Nation report, insisting that Rotich had never applied for the Deputy Director position, as claimed.
Instead, he clarified that Rotich had applied for the role of Assistant Director and had already been shortlisted for interviews.
''Andrew Rotich never applied for Deputy Director like the lying newsroom at Nation alleges. He applied for Assistant Director; he is actually already shortlisted, waiting for interviews. The Nation styles itself as the Home of Truth, but is full of lies as usual, a factory of lies! Anyway, it is the Nation Newspaper, where truth happens once in a while, but lies dominate,'' Itumbi said.
The Daily Nation had reported that Rotich, who blew the whistle on a multimillion-shilling medical billing scam at SHA, had lost his job.
According to the paper, he was initially appointed Deputy Director of Forensic Audit and Risk Assurance in April this year, but failed to make it to the shortlist for fresh interviews for the same position.
The paper’s account suggested that Rotich’s whistleblowing role may have influenced his removal, sparking public debate on whether SHA was punishing an official who had exposed massive corruption within the medical sector.
Additionally, the publication stated that his revelations led to the closure of 1,300 rogue hospitals implicated in fraudulent billing.
Itumbi, however, accused the publication of misleading the public by twisting the facts while maintaining that Rotich’s job prospects remained intact.
Itumbi insisted that the ongoing recruitment process had nothing to do with the whistleblowing saga.
Itumbi, has often been hitting at sections of the media, over stories he feels target the Kenya Kwanza administration.
On September 8, he slammed the publication over its content that alluded to unsuccessful meetings between top police officials and President William Ruto that sought to end internal wrangles stalling the recruitment process.
However, Itumbi debunked this assertion, claiming that the President was not in Mombasa two days earlier, and accused the paper of knowingly fabricating that detail. He even cited his journalism background, urging the media house to verify its facts.
