Ruto blasts ODM for defending Kemsa looting

Deputy President Dr. William Ruto on Sunday blasted ODM Party for defending the misuse of Covid-19  funds by Kemsa to procure Covid-19 commodities at inflated rates.

In a tweet on Sunday, the country's second in command accused the ODM leader Raila Odinga of taking advantage of their handshake with President Uhuru Kenyatta for "personal gain" and to defend looting at Kenya Medical Supplies Agency.

“The pretentious former Opposition, now turned Lords of corruption, attempted defence of the Covid-19 grand larceny is not shocking. It confirms the worst of Kenyans' fears that their side of the handshake was never interested in the people's good but opportunity to loot. What a shame,” DP Ruto said via Twitter post.

Odinga defended Kemsa and the Ministry of Health in general, saying suspension of Kemsa CEO Jonah Manjari and other senior managers  was blown out of proportion.

“ On this issue of MOH…there is a lot of noise without any facts…no audit has been carried out to tell people how much money has been lost,” Odinga said.

ODM secretary general Edwin Sifuna came out loud on saturday accusing the media of sensationalism as they dismissed claims of corruption in the tendering process. ODM Secretary General Edwin Sifuna defended Kemsa on Saturday. [p/courtesy] Sifuna further insinuated that the reports were baseless as he urged people to wait for a review by the Auditor General before accusing the agency of looting.

“The DCI has been called into Kemsa to investigate these matters. We however wonder how this can be so, before a credible audit by the Auditor General is carried out to ascertain the veracity of these claims. The precedent has been set before, where the media goes on a sensationalist extravaganza, with half-baked information obtained from shadowy sources, ending up creating more problems than solutions,” Sifuna said.

ODM secretary blatantly defended the high prices for purchase of Personal Protective Equipment saying they were bound to go up with the outbreak.

“It is important to note that as far as the prices of PPEs go, conventional wisdom must hold that such prices were lower before Covid-19 ravaged the whole world, and any current procurement has to come with higher values" he added.

Elgeyo Marakwet Senator Kipchumba Murkomen and Soy MP Caleb Kositany both strong allies of DP Ruto accused ODM of rushing to defend Kemsa because some of the party's senior members benefited from loot.

“I understand why Sifuna is ferociously defending the leeches who have sucked resources from desperate Covid-19 victims at Kemsa. First, ODM thinks they are more government than Jubilee. Secondly, four senior ODM members are the said ghost 'suppliers'. Bure Kabisa,” Murkomen posted on Twitter.