President Uhuru Reacts to Linking of His Brother Muhoho to Contraband Sugar Scandal

President Uhuru Kenyatta has reacted to the linking of his brother Muhoho to the contraband sugar scandal.

Speaking during the United States Chamber of Commerce Summit at the United Nations headquarters in Gigiri, Nairobi on Thursday, the President said he will not protect anyone in the fight against graft, including his own brother.

Kenyatta further expressed confidence in the agencies tasked to fight the vice and urged leaders not to politicize the crackdown.

” I heard people bundling my brother yesterday and I have been quiet. If he [Muhoho] is guilty waendele what is the problem? We must begin to develop trust in our institutions and prosecute the guilty. We must have the confidence, period,” President Kenyatta said.

“We must develop trust in agencies mandated to fight graft. Let us leave politics out of this if my brother is guilty let him be charged,” he said.

 “The confidence we have in all the agencies to protect the innocent and prosecute the guilty must stand and everyone bears their own responsibilities”.

On Tuesday, Aldai MP Cornelius Serem told a joint Parliamentary Committee probing the illegal sugar that Protech Investment Limited, a firm reportedly owned by Muhoho, imported 180,000 metric tonnes of brown sugar into the country duty-free.

On Wednesday, Agriculture Cabinet Secretary Mwangi Kiunjuri defended Muhoho over the claims, noting that he didn’t import even a grain of sugar. He dismissed the allegations as “unfortunate and misleading”. 

“One shouldn’t think they will gain popularity by bringing in the name of the president or his family for political reasons or to please his masters,” he said.

“It is wrong to use one’s privileged position to malign another person or politicise the war against corruption. I gave lists of all registered companies to import sugar and those who imported,” Kiunjuri added.