Uhuru was behind my woes – Former CS Rotich
Henry Rotich, the ex-National Treasury Cabinet Secretary, has attributed the challenges he encountered regarding the Arror and Kimwarer dams project to retired President Uhuru Kenyatta.
While accusing the former President, the ex-CS insisted that there were no funds allocated to the project.
He said the two projects should be revived for the benefit of Kenyans.
“There was some choreographed intention here. The turn of events could give you an indication but it did not occur to me at first that the charges were politically instigated,” he said.
“The matter was sort of politicized later, giving me an indication that there was extraneous consideration to charge me.”
In an interview with KTN News, Rotich aimed to reassure Kenyans that there were no financial losses incurred in the project.
“I was the CS. I want to tell Kenyans that you cannot lose Sh63 billion What was expended was only the advance payment to the contractor an amount of Sh7.5 billion, Sh3.4 billion for Kimwarer, and Sh4.1 billion for Arror,” he explained.
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Rotich said he did not know the majority of the people who testified at the court.
“I did not know the majority of the witnesses. Some of them were from the Kerio Valley Development Authority and I had never met or associated with them. I never knew where they lived,” he said.
Rotich and eight other individuals who were accused have been cleared of charges and are now released following the dismissal of the case involving the Sh63 billion Arror and Kimwarer scandal.
In the December 14, 2023 judgment, Magistrate Eunice Nyutu stated that the prosecution hadn’t effectively presented the case.
Nyutu additionally mentioned that no proof was presented in court indicating that the ex-CS and eight other individuals did not adhere to procurement regulations in the Sh63 billion Arror and Kimwarer dams situation.
However, the court blamed the prosecution for leading 8 witnesses only out of the 49 witnesses they had intended to call.
“This would appear to be a prosecution-led acquittal,” said Nyutu.
“All the accused persons in this case were acquitted under section 201 due to lack of evidence as a result of the reckless dereliction of duty by the prosecution,” she ruled.
He faced 19 accusations, such as misusing his position, conspiring to commit financial wrongdoing, providing advantages, selecting a sole provider for project insurance, and authorizing payments against legal regulations.
Rotich was suspended in July 2019 alongside his then Principal Secretary Kamau Thugge in the wake of the corruption allegations.
Thugge is now the Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) governor.
Uhuru was behind my woes – Former CS Rotich