Ministers fail to name pyramid scheme authors

Finance Minister Uhuru Kenyatta and his assistant Oburu Oginga for the third time failed to show up in the House to name the masterminds of collapsed pyramid schemes that fleeced Kenyans of millions of shillings.

When the question, which has been asked by Yatta MP Charles Kilonzo, came up neither the Deputy Prime Minister nor Mr Oginga was in the House.

Speaker Kenneth Marende said "unless there is something sinister" he does not see why the names could not be tabled.

However, Agriculture Minister Sally Kosgei stood on a point of order and told the Speaker Oginga had called to say he was unwell and could, therefore, not come to answer the question.

But Mr Kilonzo disagreed with Dr Kosgei, saying he had spoken to Uhuru’s personal assistant who had informed him the answer was at the ministry.

Frozen accounts

Last week, Oginga was ordered by the Speaker to table the names of the masterminds of the pyramid scheme, which he obliged.

He had partly answered the question, which sought to establish what became of the approximately Sh5 billion held by the Central Bank of Kenya and other commercial banks in ‘frozen’ accounts belonging to schemes.

Kilonzo also wanted to know when the pyramid scheme victims will be refunded and why the Government had failed to institute criminal proceedings against the directors, proprietors and officials of the schemes.

Marende directed the Finance minister to table the names tomorrow at 2.30pm.