4 Mega Scandals Erupt After Mudavadi Joined DP Ruto

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ANC leader Wycliffe Musalia Mudavadi has come under sharp scrutiny since Sunday when announced that he would close ranks with Deputy President William Ruto ahead of the August General Election. Speculations had reached an edge in the last few weeks that the former Finance Minister was sloping towards the DP’s side.

On Sunday, he read a bare-knuckle speech condemning the Jubilee government for messing up the economy and presiding over grand looting.

Ironically, Dr. Ruto was seated just a few metres behind and would occasionally laugh and clap as Mudavadi was trolling the Uhuruto administration in his 45-page address.

At one point, ANC delegates started chanting, “wezi! Wezi! Wezi!” basically saying the current administration is led by thieves. President Uhuru Kenyatta and Ruto are the captains.

Mudavadi has always projected himself as a humble and rational politician focused on good governance – free from corruption.

However, multi-billion scandals have scarred his political career from 1989 he was picked from the university by former President the late Daniel Moi, have been revived.

Opponents now claim that mega economic crimes were perpetrated when Mudavadi was Vice-President and Minister for Finance, Transport and Communication, and Local Governments as well as Deputy Prime Minister.

Scandals 

In December 2021, Transport Chief Administrative Secretary (CAS) Chris Oburu linked Mudavadi to the multi-billion shillings Anglo leasing scandal. 

Oburu, a Finance Minister by then, claimed that on May 9, 2002, Mudavadi, who was serving as Vice-President and Minister for Transport and Communication wrote him indicating that the government wanted to do direct sourcing of equipment meant to upgrade the Postal Corporation of Kenya. Both were Moi’s appointees.

In the Anglo Leasing scams, Kenyans lost billions of shillings after at least 18 phantom firms were awarded high-value contracts to supply Kenya with a system to print new high technology passports, naval ships, and forensic laboratories.

The Goldenberg scandal has also plagued Mudavadi’s career.

In this act of wickedness, Goldenberg International, a firm which was owned by Kamlesh Patni and James Kanyotu, would allegedly sell gold and diamond outside the country and earn money from the government in foreign exchange.

It would later emerge that the company had not been exporting anything and it was a scheme to siphon taxpayers’ money.

Mudavadi was appointed Finance Minister in 1993 when the scam was still running and some quarters allege that he played a role.

However, a commission established by retired President Mwai Kibaki in February 2003 cleared the ANC boss of any wrongdoing, highlighting that it is during Mudavadi’s tenure when the scandal, which had collapsed the Kenyan economy, was stopped.

As Finance Minister, Mudavadi is also accused of raising Pay As You Earn (PAYE) taxes by a record 500 percent in a gazette notice dated January 31, 1994. Litkenya.com could not independently verify the allegations.

In 2010, Mudavadi while serving as Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Local Governments came under investigation over the purchased= of a Ksh283 million cemetery land.

The fraud saw the City Council of Nairobi pay the amount yet the land was valued at only Ksh24 million. It was alleged the former Minister conspired with the City Council to steal from Kenyans. In 2016, the court said he was not culpable in any way.

A 2018 video of Garissa Township MP Aden Duale alleging the current economic problems can be traced back to when Mudavadi was the Finance Minister has resurfaced on social media.

“No other Finance Minister has ever presided over the loss of huge money like Musalia. He is the biggest thief to be appointed Finance Minister,” the former National Assembly Majority Leader said.

The post 4 Mega Scandals Erupt After Mudavadi Joined DP Ruto appeared first on LitKenya.

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