Kalonzo accuses Ruto government of ‘budgeted corruption’
Wiper Part leader Kalonzo Musyoka.
Wiper leader Kalonzo Musyoka has accused President William Ruto’s government of “budgeted corruption”.
Mr Musyoka claimed there was grand corruption in his administration at the expense of service delivery.
He said the controversial Adani deals on airport leasing and power transmission, which were cancelled by the President last year after public uproar, were a form of budgeted corruption calculated to enrich powerful individuals.
"Why would people want to go to leadership and gain the whole world and lose their own soul? That is what the Bible asks. We rejected Adani airport deals and they gave up. We are still waiting to see whether they have actually withdrawn the Adani deal altogether. They took over the energy sector.
"It is the same Adani which is in the health sector. They have also affected teachers., who are not receiving their insurance benefits. They must have seen billions of shillings in there. These are people who are talking of billions of shillings yet our people are dying of hunger,” Mr Musyoka said.
The Adani Group, owned by Indian billionaire Gautam Adani, had proposed to expand the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport and separately work on a mega power transmission project, before they were cancelled by President Ruto in November last year.
The former vice president, who once served as a Foreign minister, was addressing mourners during the burial of Mzee James Mwilu at Kombe Village in Machakos County
Mr Musyoka was reacting to Machakos Senator Agnes Kavindu who had lamented that the country’s health sector had collapsed.
On the Africa Union Commission chairperson elections, which former Prime Minister Raila Odinga lost to Djibouti’s Mahamoud Ali Youssouf, Mr Musyoka said the former Prime Minister had done well.
He said the news commission chairman should hit the ground running to restore peace in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
“As we speak, the Democratic Republic of Congo has lost its second city, Bukavu, to the M23 rebels. Whoever wins the African Union Commission chairperson race should know that he has a difficult task ahead of him of restoring peace by silencing the guns,” Mr Musyoka said.
At the same time, Mr Musyoka took a swipe at President Ruto whom he accused of misrule. He particularly took issue with abductions of youth and extrajudicial killings which have characterised the government’s response to the anti-government protests since last year.
Addressing former inspector general of police Hillary Mutyambai, who was among the dignitaries gracing the funeral, Mr Musyoka said the former security chief should have used his powers to stop the declaration of President Ruto as the president-elect after the contested 2022 General Election.
Mr Musyoka also used the forum to address growing infighting in the Wiper Party ahead of the 2027 General Election.
Mr Musyoka called for unity among his allies. “We must bring our people together. We should bring the infighting to an end,” he said.