Former Chief Justice (CJ) and Presidential aspirant David Maraga has exposed the tactics President William Ruto employs to bribe Members of Parliament (MPs) and Senators.
In a statement on August 20, Maraga criticized Ruto after he accused MPs of demanding money from governors, ministers, and other state officers appearing before them.
Maraga said Ruto’s statement was an extraordinary admission that cannot stand alone.
If the President can publicly point fingers at Parliament, then he must also open himself to the same scrutiny. Kenyans will not accept a one-sided anti-corruption gospel that spares the pulpit while condemning the pews.
He accused Ruto of orchestrating the most diabolical bribery of MPs in Kenya’s history to impeach former Deputy President (DP) Rigathi Gachagua.
Maraga said the public reports from the MPs themselves support the claims, placing the burden of proof on the President to refute their first-person confessions of how he bribed them.
He slammed Ruto for bribing MPs when he needs their help and publicly ridiculing them when they are useless.
Kenya’s president bribes Parliament when he needs to use them as a pitchfork for his dark maneuvers, then insults and dismisses these same MPs when he has no use for them. In the mythos of grand political bribes and betrayals, Brutus has nothing on Ruto.
He stated that Ruto should submit himself to the same rules he expects others to follow.
Maraga Advises Ruto
Maraga said Ruto cannot follow his rules, but he has a chance to redeem his image in the remaining days in the office by implementing four things.
He advised the President to first ensure budget transparency.
Maraga said Ruto should identify the budget line funding the so-called “empowerment” cash handouts and provide a full accounting of expenditure and beneficiaries.
Additionally, the former CJ said Ruto must take action on mega scandals.
Maraga said the President must order investigations into the eCitizen theft, ghost school payments, and billions in unexplained renovations, with results made public.
He also told Ruto to reverse the discontinuation of graft cases from the era of Uhuru Kenyatta.
Subsequently, Maraga said the President should remove from office all individuals previously implicated until cleared by the courts.
Equal Accountability Across Government. Extend the same anti-corruption drive to the executive, judiciary, and parastatals, not just parliament.
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No Authority to Lecture MPs
Maraga said President Ruto has no moral authority to lecture Parliament on corruption while sidestepping these scandals.
He stated that Kenyans deserve a full accounting of where their money has gone and who has pocketed it.
He said large sums of money lie at the center of bribing MPs who agree to be co-opted into a game of betraying their people.
“It is these same disappeared large amounts that result in the deepening poverty of millions,” he said.
Also Read:Â Ruto Forms Team to Fight Corruption After Threatening to Arrest Some MPs
Ruto Leaving Office Before 2027
Maraga stated that a new hope can begin at the point where rejected leadership chooses to hand over the baton peacefully.
He recalled how Kenyans rejected KANU in 2002, and President Daniel Arap Moi handed over power to Mwai Kibaki peacefully.
Marage insisted that Kenyans do not need to wait for a general election to bring in this new hope.
It is time for President Ruto to hand over the leadership baton peacefully to an incoming leadership that will reset the nation back to the ideals of the people’s Constitution.
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Indeed, I was a bit surprised, when I learned that Ruto from his “own” money offered 5 mio KSh so far to every player of the Harambee Stars. That’s 90 mio so far and let’s hope they go much further now and win another three games. But for Ruto that would mean another 54 mio. Ksh or 1.1 mio USD. I don’t know any politician in the world able or willing to do so.