You can Run But Cannot Hide – Duale Tells Ex-CS Yatani

You can run but you cannot hide. These were the words of Defense CS Aden Duale directed at former Treasury CS Ukur Yatani.

In a series of tweets, the former Garissa Town MP said that the former CS and his “masters and accomplices must account for every single cent misappropriated on dubious deals during his tenure at the National Treasury”.

He was referring to the irregular transfer of Sh15 billion to the Presidency and Ministry of Infrastructure days before the August polls.

The transactions was brought to light by Controller of Budget Margaret Nyakang’o on Tuesday.

Read: I Was Pushed to Sign Off on Sh11 Billion Payment Before Elections – Controller of Budget Reveals

Ms Nyakang’o told a Parliamentary committee that Yatani coerced her into signing off on the payments. But according to the former minister, the monies were used for the construction of a KDF hospital, Lamu-Garissa and Garissa-Isiolo roads, and fuel and maize subsidies.

He also explained that Article 223 of the constitution allows the Cabinet Secretary for the National Treasury to authorize expenditures that have not been appropriated by Parliament in certain situations, adding that once such funds are committed, “Article 223 (2) provides that parliamentary approval is sought post-facto within a period of two months.”

“This is a constitutional fact and practice. For the Controller of Budgets… to suggest that I pressured her to authorize “some payments” without parliamentary approval is therefore calculated malice,” he explained.

But Duale has denied such deals took place during his tenure as the National Assembly majority leader.

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“During my tenure as Majority Leader in the National Assembly, no such callous and unscrupulous deals were transacted,” the Defense CS said.

He added: “It is in Yatani’s tenure that the purge of leaders associated with H.E. Ruto was done, to create purportedly safe conduits and compliantly pliable leaders to brazenly steal. The empty coffers we inherited attests to the handshake regimes’ looting.”

The CS told Yatani to ready himself to carry his cross and bear economic and criminal culpability individually after being used by the “handshake partners”.

Duale stated that Kenyans will in coming days know who really is behind the high cost of living and the poor state of the economy.

Read Also: UDA Wants Raila to Take Responsibility for Sh15 Billion Theft in Last Days of Uhuru’s Term

“The more shocking revelations on how the economy was shamelessly battered and pilfered by the glutinous Handshake brothers will shake the nation to its very foundations. Kenyans will know why they were desperate to interfere with the results of the General Election,” he said.

Yatani has on his part threatened to take legal action against Nyakang’o for publishing false and malicious information.