{"id":13416,"date":"2020-08-26T19:52:27","date_gmt":"2020-08-26T19:52:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.com\/kenya\/?p=13416"},"modified":"2020-08-26T19:52:27","modified_gmt":"2020-08-26T19:52:27","slug":"state-house-recalls-communication-on-ministry-of-health-appointments-as-graft-probe-hots-up","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/kenya\/all-news\/state-house-recalls-communication-on-ministry-of-health-appointments-as-graft-probe-hots-up","title":{"rendered":"State House recalls communication on Ministry of Health Appointments as graft probe hots up"},"content":{"rendered":"

Author: Japheth Ogila\u00a0<\/strong>
\nAfricaPress-Kenya:<\/strong> President Uhuru Kenyatta (pictured above)\u00a0<\/strong>has recalled four changes he made at the ministries of health\u00a0and industrialisation barely an hour after sending a press statement to newsrooms communicating the reshufflings.<\/p>\n

A statement by the State House Spokesperson Kanze Dena-Mararo recalling the changes on Wednesday evening reads in part: \u201cWe would like to retract an earlier communication on the management changes at the Ministry of Health and that of Industrialisation, Trade and Enterprise Development.<\/p>\n

Fresh communication on the subject matter will be issued in due course.\u201d\u00a0In the recalled communication, former Principal Secretary of Principal Secretary State Department for Industrialisation Dr Francis Owino had taken over as the Principal Secretary for Public Health.<\/p>\n

Susan Mochahe, who initially held the position of the Principal Secretary for Health has been appointed as the Principal Secretary for Medical Services. Dr Owino\u2019s position had been taken over by Amb. Johnson Weru, formerly Kenya\u2019s ambassador to Belgium. Peter Kinuthia Thuku had also been appointed as the Principal Administrative Secretary in the Ministry of Health.<\/p>\n

In a press release issued earlier, the president had ordered that the changes would take effect immediately.\u00a0This comes after he issued a directive to the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) to expedite the investigations on the alleged theft of Covid-19 funds at the Kenya Medical Supplies Agency (Kemsa).<\/p>\n

President Uhuru was speaking during the 11th\u00a0presidential address\u00a0to the nation over Covid-19 intervention.\u00a0\u201cIn line with our stated public policy on Zero Tolerance to Corruption, all persons found to be prima facie culpable as a result of those investigations should be brought to book, notwithstanding the public office they hold, or their political or social status,\u201d he asserted.<\/p>\n

The Ministry of Health cracked the whip by suspending three top Kemsa managers on August 14 as probe into claims of impropriety in the acquisition of Covid-19 equipment began.<\/p>\n

Chief Executive Officer Jonah Manjari, Procurement Director Charles Juma and his Commercial counterpart Eliud Muriithi are currently being investigated in relation to among others, controversial Sh7.7 billion tender for the emergency procurement of Covid-19 Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) that was to be delivered by July 22, 2020.<\/p>\n