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Hotel saga reveals Kenya cracks

by flight737 | July 10, 2008 at 11:15 am | 82 views | add comment | 0 recommendations

Kenya has seen the end of war and its people were promised at least some negotiations that is a coalition government bringing together two parties with each claiming to have won the election. But what about tackling graft? Kenya's Finance minister Amos Kimunya a key ally of Mwai Kibaki the president is under hot waters for selling a luxury hotel. what happens next?

Mr Kimunya's defiance, even after parliament passed a vote of no confidence, showed he was drawing strength from a formidable political quarter.
Given his association with Mr Kibaki, who has characteristically remained silent on the controversy, political pundits argue he had presidential backing.
They suggest the Libyans expressed an interest in the hotel last year when President Kibaki was the guest of his Libyan counterpart, Muammar Gaddafi.
So, many are asking, if the president was aware of the deal, did he give instructions to Mr Kimunya to seal it without following the public procurement laws that required that the sale be opened for bids from all interested parties?
Mr Kimunya insists that all the relevant people were properly briefed on the sale and has demanded that Mr Odinga and the attorney general, among other senior government officials, also step aside for the investigation.
But if past experience is anything to go by, Mr Kimunya has little to worry about.
Other inquiries set up by the government, despite implicating top officials and influential figures, have not punished a single person for their alleged misdeeds.
One litmus test on the new dawn of political accountability will be whether Mr Odinga and Mr Kibaki appear before the inquiry.