Amos Kimunya resigns

Posted on July 8, 2008 by kenyanobserver

According to Breaking News Kenya, Finance minister Amos Kimunya has announced his resignation. Mr Kimunya has resigned following nationwide pressure due to allegations of corruption in the handling of the sale of the Grand Regency Hotel.

It is reported that he made the announcement after consultations with his wife and President Mwai Kibaki.

The Central Bank of Kenya, which falls under the Ministry of Finance, sold the 5-star Grand Regency Hotel in the centre of the Kenyan capital to a company associated with Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi. Members of Kenya’s Parliament accused Mr Kimunya of selling the hotel secretly. Mr Kimunya denies it, saying that Central Bank got more money from the sale than it had projected.

But how did the Central Bank of Kenya come to own a 5-star hotel? Click here to read more about the saga that has engulfed Kenya’s rulers in a miasma of corruption.

Sobering Journey to Western Kenya

By Claire Hollis

Despite having visited Kimilili many times before, it was my first time driving in that direction since returning to Kenya at the end of January, and therefore the first time since the violence at the beginning of the year. To get to Kimilili, I pass through Nakuru and Eldoret, both names that appeared in the news all too often at that time.

About half an hour from Nakuru, we began to pass destroyed buildings, generally missing at least the roof. In the case of mud houses, all that remained was the floor. What was particularly surreal was that it wasn’t every building. There were those that remained intact presumably belonging to Kalenjin, the destroyed ones having been occupied by Kikuyu. I wondered how many of the people who were around at the side of the road had themselves been involved in the violence, either as perpetrators or as victims.

Click here to read more >>