Over 25 lawmakers from Western Kenya have petitioned President Uhuru Kenyatta to form a Commission of Inquiry to look into the maize, sugar and fertiliser scandals.
Led by Lugari MP Ayub Savula, the leaders cast aspersions on the ability of the joint parliamentary committee probing the sugar scandal to reveal the real culprits.
They further demanded that Cabinet Secretaries be held responsible for the importation of contraband goods and be sent home if found culpable.
“The commission of inquiry should be formed to look into and report on the sugar, maize and fertilizer scandals in Kenya. The sugar barons should be investigated and if found culpable prosecuted for endangering the lives of Kenyans,” the petition read in part.
In addition, the lawmakers called for the government to prioritise the privatization of struggling local millers so as to hand sugarcane farmers a lifeline.
[caption caption="Ayub Savula"]
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“The government should look into ways of effecting reforms in the sugar sector ahead of the expiry of the Comesa reprieve ending in February 2019,” the petition continued.
Savula was echoing the sentiments of Amani National Congress (ANC) party leader Musalia Mudavadi who first called for the commission to be formed last week.
Mudavadi explained that a judicial inquiry was the only way to deal with graft as the proverbial 'big fish' had already compromised other avenues that could lead to their prosecution.
“I can tell you for free that the President is barely scratching the surface. The rot goes much deeper and the mastermind is buried below the proxies.
“It will give us remedial actions other than unravelling the graft kingpins, the evidence and penalties to be applied,” he noted.
[caption caption="Musalia Mudavadi"]
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