Wajir Woman Representative Fatuma Gedi has opened up about why she did not submit evidence against Deputy President William Ruto to the country's investigative agencies.
Speaking on Monday, April 18, the Wajir lawmaker explained that despite having gathered all the evidence, she chose not to share the details with George Kinoti's Directorate of Criminal Investigation (DCI) for various reasons.
Gedi detailed that she did not want to overstep her mandate by taking up the role of an investigative officer which is clearly defined in the law.
"There are government officers tasked with doing that work and they are paid, so there is no need for me to do their job by presenting the evidence I gathered," Gedi stated told NTV.
The office of the Directorate of Criminal Investigation works closely with the Director of Public Prosecution Noordin Haji and the Courts in pursuit for justice. In cases where corruption is involved, the Ethics and Anti-corruption Commission (EACC) takes a central point in conducting investigations before forwarding files to the DPP for appropriate action.
Gedi had created a storm in parliament on April 14 when she, in defense of President Uhuru Kenyatta's family sensationally accused the second in command of having grabbed public land.
When she was given an ultimatum by Speaker of the National Assembly Justin Muturi to substantiate her claims, Gedi strode into the chamber dragging a small suitcase with documents to prove her allegations.
Amidst confrontations, Gedi sidestepped the normal procedure of first tabling the documents but instead opted to go public, reading the documents on the floor of the House.
Defending her decision, Gedi noted that she does not harbour any grudge against Ruto. She stated that her relationship with the DP started turning sour after his fallout with President Uhuru Kenyatta and other Jubilee party leaders.
"My relationship with Ruto drifted apart after he started disobeying President Uhuru Kenyatta which according to my culture is not permissible as we are taught to respect those in leadership positions," she added.
In an earlier interview with the Standard, the vocal lawmaker disclosed that she had 15 land cases against Ruto.
"I had documents that linked the DP to 15 land cases but because of sideshows, I ended up tabling only two documents. But I am still going to table those documents. I have unfinished business," she stated.
Her sentiments come just a day after Speaker Justin Muturi admitted that he was too lenient on her. Muturi made it clear that Gedi's submission had flaws and could not have been admissible.
"She came with a typed document, the first one she tabled. It is just that I did not want to disparage her. The typed document ended with 'In whose hand are you safe?'
"Is that evidence that the person she is talking about has grabbed land?" Muturi questioned.
