The Kenya National Union of Nurses Secretary General Seth Panyako has asked Health Cabinet Secretary Mutahi Kagwe and Principal Secretary Susan Mochache to step down over alleged embezzlement of Covid-19 funds in the Ministry of Health.
Accusing the two and other top government officials at the ministry of heath of wanton graft, Panyako asked President Uhuru Kenyatta to sack them if they fail to resign.
“Kagwe and Mochache should resign before Monday and if they don’t, President Uhuru should sack them before they do more damage at the ministry,” he added.
Speaking in Kakamega on Sunday, the vocal unionist also called for a probe into the Governor Wycliffe Oparanya-led county on the expenditure of Ksh100 million allocated to the county to help in the fight against Covid-19.
Read: PS Mochache’s Hand In Irregular Procurement At Kemsa
“We know, we want Oparanya to tell us how this money was used especially since there is no lab to test for coronavirus, there are no reagents yet the money was disbursed,” Panyako said.
He called for a thorough probe on how Kenya spent the money given by foreign donors for the battle against Covid-19.
CS Kagwe and PS Mochache were recently linked to procurement irregularities at the Kenya Medical Supplies Authority (KEMSA) by the suspended agency’s Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Jonah Manjari.
Kemsa is said to have procured Personal Protective Equipment (PPEs) at a double market price.
Read Also: Kemsa On The Spot For Procuring PPEs At Double Market Price
In a heated Senate session on Friday, Manjari claimed that KEMSA was under intense pressure from high ranking officials at the Health Ministry to handpick suppliers.
“We were responding to an urgent need and there was a lot of pressure from all over to procure Covid-19 related items,” Manjari told the joint Senate Health and Ad Hoc Committee on Covid-19.
He, however, noted that all instructions were never formal.
Read Also: Don’t Deliver Shoddy Work, Mudavadi Tells Investigative Agencies On Kemsa Probe
“We got various requests from the Health CS, the PS Susan Mochache and a member of the Covid-19 Emergency Response Board. The requests were in form of phone calls, text messages and even emails,” said Manjari.
The revelations sparked an angry reaction from a section of Kenyans who are now calling on Members of Parliament to initiate an impeachment motion against CS Kagwe.
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