Kenyan President Seeks to Silence Allegations of Covid-19 Graft
Kenya’s Fight Against Coronavirus Graft Stokes Political Tension
(Bloomberg) -- Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta pledged to make government spending more transparent to temper a political backlash over allegations of corruption in coronavirus-related contracts.
Kenyatta directed the Health Ministry to publish details about the procurement of health equipment and services on an online portal within 30 days. The move is aimed at restoring public trust that state resources are being used appropriately, he said.
The scandal is the latest example of corruption linked to Covid-19 in sub-Saharan Africa. South Africa’s government is probing suspect contracts worth more than 5 billion rand ($300 million), while health officials have been dismissed or arrested in countries including Botswana, Zimbabwe and Uganda over virus-related graft.
Kenyan lawmakers are investigating claims that the Kenya Medical Supplies Authority bought sub-standard and overpriced equipment to combat the disease and that some officials used proxies to conduct business with the state agency.
Health-care labor unions in the East African nation have threatened to go on strike next week, partly because they say the poor quality of materials has increased the risk of infection.
The scandal comes at a delicate political juncture for Kenyatta, who is seeking to amend the constitution and do away with winner-take-all elections that have sparked violent clashes. The proposed reforms have the support of Raila Odinga, the main opposition leader and former prime minister, who has ended his rivalry with Kenyatta and formed an alliance with the president.
Succession Race
Their rapprochement has divided the ruling Jubilee Party and alienated Deputy President William Ruto, who wants to succeed Kenyatta after his term ends in 2022. Ruto’s relationship with Kenyatta has deteriorated in recent months as the president embraced other potential successors.
Ruto has seized on the corruption scandal to criticize his political opponents.
“Their overgrown impunity is shamelessly making them steal even from the sick in a pandemic,” he said on Twitter on Wednesday.
Odinga has called for a full audit of all funds made available to state agencies, departments and ministries to fight the pandemic, and establish whether they were misappropriated.
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