Munene Kamau
9 April 2006
Nairobi — President Mwai Kibaki does not require protection over the Anglo Leasing scandal because he is not involved in the scam, Justice and Constitution Affairs minister Martha Karua has said.
She explained that the Head of State had not participated in the scandal and that attempts to link him to the mega-scam were just a malicious campaign to taint his name.
She explained that although former Ethics and Governance Permanent Secretary John Githongo had briefed President Kibaki, this did not make him part and parcel of the scandal.
The minister was reacting to claims that she has been over protective of the President and Vice-President Moody Awori.
She however said that she was unwilling to discuss the matter further as parliamentary standing orders prohibit the discussion of matters that are before the House.
Parliament is currently debating the report on Anglo Leasing that was prepared by the Public Accounts Committee after interviewing the former anti-graft chief in Britain and other key players in Kenya.
On the Ndung'u report, Karua defended the Government's move to repossess all grabbed public land.
She said that the Government's decision to repossess the land was being misconstrued to mean that the process of land allocation had been criminalised.
"How can one say that we are on the wrong footing when we start repossessing forest land which had been given out without the proper procedures being followed? The forest land was never degazetted," the minister said.
The chairman of the commission which sought to unravel the myriad land problems, Paul Ndung'u on Friday said he was saddened by the criminalising of all the land allocations by the Government.
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