[UAH] Vetting team puts Matiang’i to task over Sh17m land sale deal - News - nation.co.ke

http://www.nation.co.ke/News/Vetting-team-puts-Matiang-i-to-task-over-Sh17m-land-sale-deal/-/1056/1848838/-/yk9c7i/-/index.html

Information Secretary nominee Fred Matiang'i Friday defended himself against accusations that he swindled a Kenyan of Sh17 million in a land deal.

Dr Matiang'i said he and three other people legitimately bought the land which was being auctioned by Fidelity Bank for Sh12 million in 2006.

The complainant had presented an affidavit questioning his suitability for the Cabinet position to the vetting committee.

"The land was being auctioned by the bank and this individual tried to come in between to broker the deal and try to sell the land himself, but we could not give him the money because he had nothing to sell," he told the Committee on Appointments.

He said his lawyers conducted a search at the Lands Ministry and found that the land belonged to Mr Duncan Muchira, the complainant, but that there was a caveat that the bank had taken it over as it was still owed money.

Parliament Minority Leader Francis Nyenze said Dr Matiang'i may have bypassed the individual claiming to have owned the land to deal with the bank, which was quoting less amount for the property.

However, Dr Matiang'i, who has done consultancy work for Parliament for the last eight years, said claims that he had swindled Mr Muchira of his land were fictitious.

He said the allegations were made to extort money from him following his nomination as a Cabinet Secretary.

"Over the last six years, not a single note has been filed through the courts by the individual seeking judicial redress. You should ask yourself why these allegations are coming up now when my appointment for the position of Cabinet Secretary has been announced," he said.

He claimed his accusers had slipped a note under the door of his house demanding to be paid a bribe, or they forward the complaints to the vetting committee.

Dr Matiang'i said he had nothing to hide, saying details of the land transaction were available at the bank and the Lands Ministry.

Meanwhile, the Information Secretary nominee was also put to task on the viability of the laptop for pupils programme as promised by the Jubilee government, taking into consideration that some areas lacked mobile phone network, Internet connectivity and electricity.

He, however, argued spreading the fibre optic cable network would be key in ensuring that the whole country was connected to the Internet.

National Assembly Deputy Majority Leader Naomi Shaban urged the Cabinet nominee to deal with vandalism of fibre optic cable.
Dr Matiang'i pledged to ensure tighter enforcement by police to deal with vandalism and cyber crime.

Vetting team puts Matiang'i to task over Sh17m land sale deal - News - nation.co.ke
http://www.nation.co.ke/News/Vetting-team-puts-Matiang-i-to-task-over-Sh17m-land-sale-deal/-/1056/1848838/-/yk9c7i/-/index.html