Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission Chief Executive Officer Twalib Mbarak has for the first time spoken on the Covid-19 scandal which has drawn national interest, with foreign donors hatching punitive measures to force Kenya into conducting an investigation.
The EACC boss stated that suspects involved in the scandal which has put the Health Ministry (MOH) on the spotlight, will not be arrested any time soon, with the case set to drag on.
According to Mbarak the case will take a longer time to solve as it involves several issues that need to be handled first. His statement comes a few days after State House refuted reports that President Uhuru Kenyatta had ordered an investigation into the matter.
“This is a big and wide case that will take time to process. The case has very many angles We want to establish whether these companies have a history and profile or whether they are briefcase entities,” Twalib stated on Monday evening, August 24 in an interview with a local daily.
Some of the issues include financial impropriety, disregard of procurement laws, creation of proxies and private firms by KEMSA to embezzle funds, inflation of prices and legality of firms involved in the scandal.
Kenya Medical Supplies Authority is under investigation for inflating prices of personal protective equipment (PPEs) and issuing tenders illegally. Donations by philanthropist and Chinese Billionaire Jack Ma were also reportedly stolen and sold to the MOH at a high price.
The scandal has created divisions among the political elites, with ODM leader Raila Odinga defending his party's stand on the issue. This followed a war of words between ODM and DP William Ruto on the scandal.
"At least for once it won't be possible to be blamed for what someone said started in Wuhan as a virus, landed in Italy as a pandemic and now in Kenya as a multi-billion shilling corruption enterprise. I'd rather remain a spectator," Ruto distanced himself from the theft in what many termed as a plain attack on the government.
ODM Secretary General Edwin Sifuna argued that Ruto made the statement out of jealousy insinuating that it was okay for money to be stolen as long as he (DP) was not involved.
Odinga condemned the graft scandal and urged the government to conduct a full audit into the usage of all funds channelled to the fight against the pandemic.
EACC CEO Mbarak, however, urged the public to dissociate the case with the political class which was reportedly creating unnecessary pressure. He promised to expedite the case and table findings to the Director of Public Prosecutions Noordin Haji.
The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and Global Fund threatened to withdraw over Ksh 400 billion offered to Kenya as aid in retaliation to the scandal which has seen Health CS Mutahi Kagwe lament on how cartels at Afya House are frustrating his efforts to curb corruption.
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