Senior ministry official threatens reporter over stolen funds story

In an attempt to stop publication of a story about a mega scandal in the Ministry of Health, which ran in Wednesday’s Business Daily, the Principal Secretary in the ministry, Dr Nicholas Muraguri, sought out the reporter, Ms Stellar Murumba. Below is the transcription of their conversation at Ranalo Restaurant, Kimathi Street, Nairobi, on Tuesday.

Dr Muraguri: So what is this drama? You couldn’t even whisper a word to me when you got the story?

Ms Murumba: You are the one sitting at the ministry; you should be able to tell us.

Dr Muraguri: What is going on? I am seeing like a pattern… attempts to leak this to media…

Ms Murumba: To leak what?

Dr Muraguri: Information to media. It means everything is not okay. There is something not right in the system in terms of negative information.

Dr Muraguri: If anything, you should be able to address it.

Dr Muraguri: There is a lot of negative information and what-not. No positive stories in the media at all.

Ms Murumba: What do you mean? You think we haven’t been doing positive stories? I think the media is doing its job.

Dr Muraguri: Sometimes I wonder, whose payroll are you on? I know kina Wanjala (National Quality Control Lab) slowed down with you.

Ms Murumba: You think I am on someone’s payroll?

Dr Muraguri: The zeal...

Ms Murumba: I am a health reporter, what else would I be doing?

Dr Muraguri: But I don’t see it in a way that lives are saved, outbreaks prevented, new infrastructure…

Ms Murumba: Are you sure?

Dr Muraguri: You know I can just Google and download your stories?

Ms Murumba: Please do and tell me what we have not written about.

Dr Muraguri: So, tell me about this story.

Ms Murumba: Which one?

Dr Muraguri: You sent something to the CS (Cabinet Secretary) and it was forwarded as received, so you cannot pretend it was someone else, blah blah.

Ms Murumba: Yes. And he is yet to get back to me.

Dr Muraguri: He is in Taita. He only told me about free maternity.

Ms Murumba: We are seeking clarification on issues touching on the supplementary budget that were not approved by Parliament, portable clinics and free maternity funds. Had the CS said he was away, I could have called you.

Dr Muraguri: He did not know where you were coming from. That is why he did not respond. But did he know the context?

Ms Murumba: The content of the story is that there is some money that has been misappropriated and mismanaged at the ministry. Some has been diverted to what was not its original use.

Dr Muraguri: Like if you go by road you go by air?

Ms Murumba: …And it was agreed that you go by road and not any other means.

Dr Muraguri: Even if there is traffic on Mombasa Road?

Ms Murumba: If it was agreed by the relevant authority, no problem. But in this case, it was not agreed upon — that is misappropriation.

Dr Muraguri: That is not true. Misappropriation means that you are supposed to buy water and you buy alcohol.

Ms Murumba: It depends from where you look at it. You get my point?

Dr Muraguri: That is a material thing you have said but if you say something was paid for with money not supposed to, then that is fraud. But you better be sure of the claim you are making. That one you must be very sure because we will sue for those allegations.

Ms Murumba: So where are these clinics?

Dr Muraguri: …If that is the thesis of your story, then go ahead, but it puts you at risk. I am following you. You proceed.

Ms Murumba: I’m simply following up on the story.

Dr Muraguri: All these were done before me. They were only delivered during my time. Tell me another one. You are Kenyan like me; are we not friends?

Ms Murumba: We are friends and you don’t trust my agenda? How does that work?

Dr Muraguri: I could be wrong. I mean you as Ms Murumba, you may not be driven by someone else’s agenda but someone above you, maybe? You are just a messenger. You are just doing your work. But someone else above you may have another motive. It doesn’t have to be you. It could be your boss.

Ms Murumba: But our bosses don’t give us stories.

Dr Muraguri: You think I don’t know how the media works?

Ms Murumba: You know you have told me so many things? From you tapping my calls, my every communication, then I am left to wonder what the ministry thinks. Why would you be tapping my calls?

Dr Muraguri: If you are a matter of national security interest. In this particular story, it sounds so familiar. Is deferring the story for another day an issue? Does it cost you anything to wait?

Ms Murumba: The CS is aware of this. The issue is, we cannot stop processes in the system just because the CS has not responded.

Dr Muraguri: Come on. If yesterday it was stopped, what’s the big deal? Unajua serikali wewe? (Do you know the government really?) Including screenshots of the story? I mean, you don’t know government. We can get what you write even before you publish it, including getting print shots and screenshots of the story. Someone can be reading your messages while sitting here. If there is a need to hack Nation’s system, we can. We can even confirm how much money is in your account now. You need to look at how government works… If you build schools and money remains then you decide to buy laptops for the kids, is that misappropriation?