Lamu, KENYA: Lamu MPs are angered by reports that they are among those who were bribed to shoot down the sugar probe report recently.
Lamu East MP Athman Shariff and his Lamu West counterpart Stanley Muthama are also demanding an apology from a local daily Weekly Citizen which published the names of the two lawmakers and alleged that they were among MPs who had received the paltry Sh.10,000 bribe to reject the report.
The sugar report had been tabled in the house by the Agriculture and Trade Committee last Thursday.
However speaking separately on Wednesday,the MPs both denied they had been bribed and distanced themselves from the allegations which they termed as malicious.
The two legislators are currently outside the country on official duties.
They insist that those associating them with the sugar probe are simply bent on dragging their good reputations in the murk.
Lamu East MP Athman Shariff termed the allegations as a serious act of character assassination meant to tarnish his reputation as a lawmaker and member of the August house.
Shariff even denied being present at the time when the report was being tabled in the house saying he had infact traveled to Mombasa to attend an election petition ruling pitting Governor Fahim Twaha and his rival Issa Timamy.
“I wasn’t even in the house.I was in Mombasa.How could I have been present to receive the bribe and at the same time be elsewhere? This is character assassination. I demand an apology from that paper or else I move to court and sue for defamation,”said Shariff.
Lamu West MP Stanley Muthama termed the allegations as mere propaganda and insisted that he wasn’t aware neither did he partake in the so-called bribery.
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Muthama asked leaders to focus on development and stop malice.
“I am focusing on serious issues and that’s why such rumors don’t even bother me.As far as I am concerned, that’s just propaganda,”said Muthama.
Last week, MPs voted overwhelmingly to reject the report of the joint committee on Trade and Investments, Agriculture and Livestock over the importation of sugar during last year’s duty-free window.
The report had indicted National Treasury CS Henry Rotich, East African Community CS Adan Mohammed and Kenya high commissioner to India William Bett, who served as Agriculture CS during the period of the importation of the sugar.
The vote was however sullied by claims that the MPs’ decision was motivated by powerful forces who bribed them to shoot down the report.
