MPs take dig at envoy prospects Mubea, Mwinzi

Former Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission Deputy Chief Executive Officer Michael Mubea responds to questions during vetting for an envoy position, at Parliament buildings on May 28, 2019. He has been criticised for not doing much to win the war against corruption. PHOTO | JEFF ANGOTE | NATION MEDIA GROUP

What you need to know:

  • Mr Mubea said investigations on ‘Chickengate’ were concluded and the suspects charged in 2014.
  • Ms Mwinzi was hard-pressed to convince the committee why she should be considered for the commission as she’s a US citizen.

Mr Michael Mubea’s stint as deputy chief executive officer of EACC and Ms Mwende Mwinzi’s dual citizenship came to haunt them Tuesday during their vetting for envoy positions in Northern Ireland and South Korea, respectively.

The two were among the seven nominees whose suitability to head various missions abroad was scrutinised by the Defence and Foreign Relations Committee of the National Assembly.

Mr Mubea, who has been with the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) since 2013, was described as an impediment in the war against corruption by MPs Charles Kilonzo (Yatta), Yusuf Hassan (Kamukunji), Nelson Koech (Belgut) and Vincent Tuwei (Mosop).

CHICKENGATE

Mr Ernest Kivai (MP, Vihiga), also accused him of doing little in the ‘Chickengate scandal’ as well as playing part in the questionable transfer of Integrity Centre, the current headquarters of the EACC.

“They call you the mafia within the EACC — that you have been deliberately sitting on files and generally doing little to fight corruption. Is the government getting you out of the way so that it can now deal with corruption properly?” Mr Kilonzo posed.

Mr Mubea said he would have been arrested for “sitting” on files. “I’ve never been involved in the negotiation or sale of the Integrity Centre. I’ve nothing to do with it; the commission led by the chair oversaw the transfer,” he said.

On ‘Chickengate’, Mr Mubea said investigations were concluded and the suspects charged in 2014. He noted that the commission should not be blamed when the matters drag in court.

CITIZENSHIP

Ms Mwinzi was hard-pressed to convince the committee why she should be considered for the commission as she’s a US citizen.

“It’s the first time this committee is dealing with a nominee with dual citizenship. As a committee we want to set a precedent,” committee chairman Katoo ole Metito said.

“I was borne in the US, but I belong to Kenya. You can choose where to belong, but you cannot choose where to be born. I cannot tell my parents to conceive me and deliver me elsewhere,” Ms Mwinzi said.

But even as this unfolded, it also emerged that she was cleared by the electoral commission to vie for the Mwingi West parliamentary seat in the August 8, 2017 poll, yet the documents she presented showed she acquired her Kenyan ID on November 14, 2017.

However, she said she had to change her ID since the one she used in the elections had not captured her information properly.

The others vetted were Mr Kariuki Mugwe (Abu Dhabi), Mr Peter Angore (Algiers), Ms Flora Karugu (Lusaka), Ms Diana Kiambuthi (Stockholm) and Ms Njambi Kinyungu (UN Habitat).