Kenya Treasury Secretary Rotich Denies Charges in Graft Case
Kenya Treasury Secretary Rotich Denies Charges in Graft Case
(Bloomberg) -- Kenya’s National Treasury Secretary Henry Rotich and other public officials on Tuesday pleaded not guilty to allegations of irregular payments for the construction of dams.
The charges, including conspiracy to defraud the government and abuse of office, were read out during a televised court session in the Kenyan capital, Nairobi. Other officials who deny the charges include National Treasury Principal Secretary Kamau Thugge and Principal Secretary in the Ministry of East African Community Susan Koech.
“We are extremely prepared to move with this case as fast as this court can,” Special Prosecutor Taib Ali Taib said.
The Office of the Director of Public Prosecution on Monday ordered the arrest of Rotich, Thugge and 24 others as part of an investigation into possible irregularities involving two planned dam projects that may have cost the government billions of shillings. Rotich, 50, is the most senior official to be targeted so far in an intensifying battle against corruption in Kenya.
“While the case serves to draw attention to the existence of corruption, steps against such a high profile individual also indicate that Kenyan government authorities may be taking more meaningful steps to seek to address it at the highest levels,” Kwadwo Sarkodie, a partner at London-based law firm Mayer Brown International LLP, said by email.
Investors should still continue to proceed with caution by implementing robust due diligence and compliance measures, Sarkodie said.
The current war on corruption has been viewed as a fight against those opposed to the rapprochement between President Uhuru Kenyatta and former Prime Minister Raila Odinga, Bernard Kiarie, regional banking head at Nairobi-based African Alliance Securities Kenya said in an emailed statement.
Kenyan politics are often divided along ethnic lines, with tribal loyalties historically taking precedence over policy pronouncements. Rotich was appointed on the basis of being Kenyatta’s ally although he is a member of Ruto’s ethnic group.
“So far, we have not seen any serious efforts on this war on corruption, and in this case, we do not expect anything different,” Kiarie said.
To contact the reporters on this story: Eric Ombok in Nairobi at eombok@bloomberg.net;David Herbling in Nairobi at dherbling@bloomberg.net;Bella Genga in Nairobi at bgenga2@bloomberg.net
To contact the editors responsible for this story: David Malingha at dmalingha@bloomberg.net, Vernon Wessels, Rene Vollgraaff
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