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Health CS Kagwe in vow to crush cartels at Afya House

Thursday, May 28th, 2020 00:00 | By
Ministry of Health. Photo/Courtesy

Health CS Mutahi Kagwe has vowed to unmask and flush out criminal elements in his ministry who are colluding with cartels to pilfer public resources.

He blamed ‘a few bad apples’ the for misappropriation of the donated Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) and other recent graft scandals at his ministry.

“This building has got its fair share of criminals. Like any other marketplace, there are a few mad cases in here. And we will unearth them. As we move on, we will unearth them,” he said.

Briefing the media on the Covid-19 status at Afya House, Nairobi, yesterday, Kagwe promised to deal with the “criminal elements” without fear or favour.

At least 30 officers were recently transferred from the ministry’s headquarters at Afya House in what is believed to be a purge targeting the cartels.

And yesterday the visibly concerned Kagwe questioned unwillingness of some officers who he said have stayed at the headquarters for ‘more than 12 years’ to go on transfer.

“Sometimes you will find people who have been around for 12 years. Why will such a person still want to cling to that office after staying for so many years?” posed the CS.

He added: “These are public officers who will call a businessman and tell them that they have got an order which they can help get him with a fake tender; and that fake tender might even have a Ministry of Health logo because some criminal in here has given it out.”

He said the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) is currently investigating more cases and necessary action will be taken against those found guilty.

 “Just like any other sector or ministry, in this building, we have a fare share of criminals who use the name of the ministry to con Kenyans. Just like any other sector we also have challenges.

The only difference is that we are owning the up and we are ready to deal with them. There are just a few bad apples,” he said while responding to a question regarding the alleged graft at his ministry.

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