Anne Waiguru wants President Uhuru to form commission of inquiry to investigate Josephine Kabura's affidavit

Josephine Kabura, a prime suspect in the NYS scandal. Former Devolution CS Anne Waiguru wants President Uhuru Kenyatta to form a commission of inquiry to investigate an affidavit sworn byMs Kabura into the Sh791 million National Youth Service scandal. (PHOTO: COURTESY)

Former Devolution Cabinet Secretary Anne Waiguru wants president Uhuru Kenyatta to form a commission of inquiry to investigate an affidavit sworn by Josephine Kabura into the Sh791 million National Youth Service scandal.

Kabura is a prime suspect in the scandal.

Waiguru said everybody keeps making reference to the said affidavit, as if is the truth hence need for a public inquiry to into the same.

"The affidavit with its falsehoods and unsubstantiated allegations have been treated as truth, fact and evidence," she said in a statement Sunday.

Waiguru said despite her substantive responses to the preposterous allegations, a narrative continues to evolve that assumes the truth in affidavit by a person already charged with several crimes ignoring the fact that the natural inclination of an accused person is to malign their accusers, it is never to name their accomplices.

Waiguru who resigned from office last year in November over the scandal said she recognises there is an ongoing investigation by the multi-agency team. The case is also in court.

"However, due to the excessive interest and attention on this matter from Kenyans, I have requested His Excellence the president to set up a Commission of Inquiry, under the provisions of the Commission of Inquiry Act into the grave allegations made in the Josephine Kabura affidavit so that the truth can come out in full public limelight," she said.

She added she believes Kenyans wish to know the truth and see an end to the unfortunate drama once and for all.

Waiguru said the affidavit made very serious allegations against her, several public officials and private persons.

She added that the affidavit appeared a week after the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission had cleared her in a letter of any involvement in the theft at NYS.

Anyone can deduce what the intentions of the affidavit were, she said.

Her statement came days after Kabura and her lawyer Samson Nyaberi appeared before EACC and re-affirmed on the contents of the affidavit saying they would not recant.

This followed a move by the EACC to summon Nyaberi to record statements on information he received from Ms Kabura over the Sh791 million scandal.

Kabura told the officers at the commission she stands by the affidavit that she swore.

Kabura has in the affidavit implicated Waiguru, among others, in the Sh791 million NYS scam.

Kabura who says her companies – Form Home Builders, Roof and All Trading and Reinforced Concrete Technologies – received the Sh791 million as payment for the supply of road construction materials for the Kibera and Mukuru slums, claims Waiguru engaged her and even oversaw registration of the companies.

She claims to have met Waiguru when she worked at the Ministry of Finance, specifically in the IFMIS directorate.

It was then, she says, that she started carrying out "small jobs" for Waiguru which eventually culminated in her appointment as the "sole merchant assigned to deliver all (NYS) road materials."

The dealings came to light after the Central Bank raised the red flag over huge sums of money paid to private companies by the NYS.

Waiguru said then investigations had identified fraudulent payments made to suppliers of road construction and building materials.

After her affidavit became public, she was summoned to EACC where she recorded a 12-page statement repeating all that was contained in the affidavit she had authored.

Waiguru also swore her affidavit in February in which she implicated Elgeyo Marakwet Senator Kipchumba Murkomen and deputy president William Ruto's personal aide Farouk Kibet in the scam. The two are expected to appear before EACC this week for grilling.