Kiraitu Murungi

Kiraitu Murungi (born 1 January 1952) is a Kenyan politician. He has been accused of involvement in the Anglo Leasing Scandal.

Education

Murungi was born in Meru. He attended Nkubu high school with the likes of Francis Muthaura, then proceeded to the University of Nairobi and graduated as a Bachelor of Laws in 1977 and as a Master of Laws in 1982. He later achieved a Master of Laws at Harvard Law School in 1991. [http://www.statehousekenya.go.ke/government/cvs/kiraitumurungi.htm]

Political career

Murungi has been a Member of Parliament since 1992 and has formerly served as Minister of Justice and Constitutional Affairs and as the shadow Attorney General. In the 2002 Kenya General Elections he won the South Imenti Constituency MP seat for the National Rainbow Coalition (NARC) party. After the Government's defeat in the November 21 2005 constitutional referendum, he was appointed Minister of Energy.

In February 2005, Murungi apologised for making a remark which was criticised as trivialising both rape and corruption. He had said that criticism from aid donors of corruption in Kenya was "like raping a woman who is already willing" [cite news|title=Kenyan apology over rape remark|date=February 11, 2005|publisher=BBC News|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/africa/4254343.stm|accessdate=2006-02-13] .

Anglo Leasing scandal

He is one of the closest allies of Kenyan President Mwai Kibaki. He has been accused of attempted cover-up in the Anglo Leasing Scandal, which he has earlier claimed that it was a "scandal that never was" [cite news|title=The Big Question: Can the President Shake Off Men in the Eye of a Storm?|publisher=The Daily Nation|date=January 29 2006|url=http://allafrica.com/stories/200601300340.html|accessdate=2006-02-13] .

On February 8 2006, the BBC World Service aired a conversation between Murungi and former Governance and Ethics Permanent Secretary John Githongo where he appears to be coercing Githongo to drop his investigations on the Anglo Leasing Scandal. He had promised that Anura Pereira would forgive a debt of KES 30 million owed by Githongo's father [cite news|title='Taped evidence' in Kenya scandal|date=February 9, 2006|publisher=BBC News|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/africa/4695354.stm|accessdate=2006-02-10] .

Murungi initially maintained that he would not resign his cabinet post despite the allegations of corruption [cite news|title=Kenyan minister 'not resigning'|date=February 10, 2006|publisher=BBC News|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/africa/4701048.stm|accessdate=2006-02-10] . He claimed that he was innocent and that Githongo's reports are mere propaganda. On the recording, he has commented: "I have listened to the alleged tape recorded evidence. It is truncated, inaudible, insufficient and inadmissible to form any credible proof of the allegations being orchestrated by Mr Githongo" [cite news|title=Kiraitu: 'BBC Tape Not Credible'|date=February 10, 2006|publisher=Daily Nation|url=http://allafrica.com/stories/200602100373.html|accessdate=2006-02-10] . On 13 February 2006, however, President Mwai Kibaki announced that Murungi had resigned to allow full investigation into the allegations [cite news|title=Kenyan 'graft' ministers resign|date=February 13, 2006|publisher=BBC News|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/africa/4710138.stm|accessdate=2006-02-13] .On 14 February 2006, a day after his resignation, Murungi has claimed that he played no role at all to cover-up the Anglo Leasing Scandal. He has blamed his woes on the politics of National Rainbow Coalition (NARC) and the media. However, it later emerged that President Mwai Kibaki had asked him to resign from the Government [cite news|title= Kibaki asked Kiraitu and Saitoti to quit|date=February 13, 2006|publisher=Daily Nation|url=http://www.nationmedia.com/dailynation/nmgcontententry.asp?category_id=2&newsid=67252|accessdate=2006-02-16] .

On 15 November 2006 he was reinstated as Energy Minister by Kibaki. [ [http://www.iol.co.za/index.php?set_id=1&click_id=68&art_id=qw1163590381401B255 Kibaki reinstates ministers after scandal] , "IOL" ] He remained in that position in the Cabinet appointed by Kibaki on January 8 2008, following the controversial December 2007 election. [ [http://allafrica.com/stories/200801080673.html "Kenya: Kibaki Names Cabinet"] , "The East African Standard" (allAfrica.com), January 8, 2008.]

Parliamentary Accounts Committee investigation

On February 10 2006, Murungi issued a statement that was faxed to all Kenyan media houses questioning the intentions and motives of John Githongo, in the form of 36 questions. Among the questions asked is why John Githongo was recording his conversations with Government officials and whether he was a spy for foreign nations [cite news|title=Minister Kiraitu’s 36 questions to Githongo|url=http://www.eastandard.net/hm_news/news_s.php?articleid=36298|date=10 February 2006|publisher=Standard, Kenya|accessdate=2006-02-13] .

ee also

*Corruption in Kenya
*Chris Murungaru
*David Mwiraria

External links

* http://www.parliament.go.ke/MPs/members_murungi_k.php
* [http://www.statehousekenya.go.ke/government/cvs/kiraitumurungi.htm Government Curriculum Vitae]

References