Foreign Minister Moses Wetangula followed quickly on the heels of his permanent secretary in leaving his post, ahead of a possible vote in parliament that could have forced him to quit anyway.
“I am absolutely clear that I have played no role in the formulation, execution or in any matter in the transactions that are being talked about,” Wetangula told a news conference.
“I have made a personal decision to step aside from my responsibilities ... to give room to the able arms of the investigation to carry out investigations,” he said.
Earlier on Wednesday, President Mwai Kibaki accepted a request by Thuita Mwangi to temporarily leave his post as permanent secretary in the ministry of foreign affairs.
The moves come on the back of public and media pressure concerning questions raised in a report urging Wetangula and Mwangi to resign for causing the loss of millions of dollars by authorising payment at inflated prices for embassies abroad.
Kenyan media have cast the case as yet another scandal involving top government officials in a country where corruption is viewed as endemic, and one of the most pressing concerns choking investment in east Africa’s biggest economy.
The Parliamentary Committee on Defense and Foreign Relations report says Kenya lost $14 million in a deal to buy a new embassy in Japan.
It also says Kenya lost money on deals to buy embassies in Egypt, Nigeria, Pakistan and Belgium.
Wetangula’s department did not hire professional property agents or lawyers, and there was no proper valuation of the property in Japan, the report states.
This prompted heated debate in parliament on Tuesday, but a vote on whether Wetangula and Mwangi should be forced to go did not take place because the assembly ran out of time. The debate was due to resume on Wednesday.
