Former Turkana Senator John Munyes, who was nominated to head the Ministry of Petroleum and Mining, on Thursday appeared before Committee on Appointments of the National Assembly for vetting.
As he delivered his answers to the committee, Kenyans observed that his net worth was not adding up to his many years in public service.
During the vetting session, Munyes stated that he was worth Sh50 Million to the surprise of the Members of Parliament and Kenyans online alike.
[caption caption="John Munyes during vetting session"]
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Kikuyu MP Kimani Ichungwah challenged the former Senator on his net worth to which Munyes defended his stance disclosing that he had most of his investments in livestock in which he had incurred huge losses over the years.
"You can have a billion shillings in livestock today and the next day you have nothing, that is why my investment is small (Ksh50m)," he stated.
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Following the revelation, one user noted: "How is Munyes worth 50Million having been a minister three times, an MP and a senator? Hapo tumecheswa (we are being played here)."
Mr Munyes, however, stated that he had no problem with gathering wealth: "I want to encourage Kenyans to make money, there is money in government but we have to do it the right way."
"I detest corruption, I have a track record, I worked as a cabinet minister in three ministries and I have never appeared in any investigation," he stated.
During the session, Munyes highlighted some of his accomplishments while in public service.
"In the Ministry of Special programmes, I ran a very efficient food distribution program in the country. Providing service and mitigating disasters and drought during 2003-2005," he conveyed.
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[caption caption="Reactions to Munyes' comments"]
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He expressed optimism that the discovery of oil would help improve the quality of the lives of the Turkana community.
"Having an understanding of the hoarse community I will ensure national interest is taken on board. For the new Petroleum docket, which was discovered in Turkana, I will play a key role in bridging conflict by increasing participation of the hoarse community.
"I want to be remembered for the reforms I have done for this country and my charity work," he stated.
[caption caption="Reactions to Munyes' comments"]
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