[SIZE=7]Aisha Jumwa Murder Case: Victim’s Family Seeks to Withdraw Charges[/SIZE]
Ahead of Jumwa’s vetting by Parliament, the family requested to settle the matter out of court arguing that the lawmaker was not a principal offender in the case.
Following the new development, the former Malindi member of parliament wrote to the Director of the Public Prosecution - DPP, Noordin Haji, and the court asking to become a state witness.
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Malindi MP Aisha Jumwa (right) and her bodyguard Geoffrey Otieno Okuto appear in court.
If DPP Haji and the court approves her request, then she will testify against her bodyguard.
The prosecution may choose to grant the request and drop the charges against the former Malindi MP or direct that the matter heads full hearing on grounds of national interest.
The new development came a week after the ODPP withdrew graft charges it leveled against the CS nominee, who was accused of irregularly obtaining Ksh19 million.
Prosecutor Alex Akula told Chief Magistrate Martha Mutuku of the Anti-Corruption Court that the ODPP had not gathered enough evidence to secure Jumwa’s conviction.
Jumwa had been charged with the acquisition of proceeds of crime, conflict of interest, and money laundering.
However, the cases of eight other co-accused will proceed to full hearing and judgment by the court. The eight will have questions to answer on how they defrauded the Malindi constituency with the said amount in 2018.
Mutuku ordered the DPP to retable findings of the investigations on the eight before the court upon which it would issue further directions.
[SIZE=7]Wetangula Shuts Down Panel Over Aisha Jumwa Degree Debate[/SIZE]
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[li]By DERRICK OKUBASU on 18 October 2022 - 4:26 pm[/li]
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Public Service CS Nominee Aisha Jumwa appears before Parliament for vetting (left) and a copy of her JKUAT certificate.
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National Assembly Speaker Moses Wetangula shut down a section of members of parliament during the vetting of Public Service Cabinet Secretary nominee Aisha Jumwa as her academic qualifications took center stage.
While appearing before the panel on the afternoon of Tuesday, October 18, Jumwa presented her Degree in Executive Master of Leadership and Governance she earned from Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology (JKUAT) in 2015.
National Assembly Leader of Minority Opiyo Wandayi and other panelists, then raised doubts over the certificate with some claiming that it was an honorary certificate awarded to leaders over their achievements.
So charged was Wandayi that he invited a clarification statement from JKUAT, who issued the certificate.
“I have just been able to lay my hand on the copy of the degree certificate that was tendered by Aisha Jumwa. In fact, this must be clarified even by the university perhaps, whether this is a mere certificate, course or executive master of leadership and governance,” questioned the Leader of Minority.
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Wetangula, who chairs the committee, however, stepped in to put a stop to the debate explaining that a Degree certificate is not part of the requirements for one to serve as a Cabinet Secretary.
“This is not the foundation on which she has been nominated for this position. If it turns out not to be a genuine degree, it is neither here nor there. We leave it to the agencies that handles matters of this nature…The very most we can do is ask the quality assurance agency in education to tell us what it is. There is no requirement to have a degree to be nominated to be a Cabinet Minister,” he explained.
He further noted that in case the Degree was not genuine, it was beyond the panel to verify and invited academic quality assurance agencies to step in.
“If the honorable Aisha brings degrees that are not degrees, the consequences are known,” Wetangula added.
Later, a debate ensued over how she enrolled for a degree after scoring a D-(minus) in her Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE).
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Jumwa beaks down before the National Assembly vetting committee as she detailed her troubled humble background and rise to prominence.
During her introductory remarks, she detailed how her parents struggled to provide for her and her 27 siblings.
“My parents were poor, they used to struggle to provide for me,” Jumwa hesitated as she broke down in tears.
“Compose yourself, we have all walked the same journey, don’t worry,” National Assembly speaker Moses Wetangula stated.
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In her defense, Jumwa recounted her struggles to attend school and escaping early marriage. She noted that she dropped out of high school and sat for the final examinations as a private candidate.
“It wasn’t easy for me to score those marks because I had to take myself to class after dropping in Form 2 and struggling as a private candidate. I took it as a challenge in trying to be better and to serve the community better…The person who nominated me for this position did his due diligence and saw that I am fit if approved by Parliament. I represent many who look up to Aisha Jumwa as a role model. You can get a D(plain) or D-(Minus) and get to the Cabinet. We are talking of the real hustler,” she noted.
“I went to a local primary school from 1983 to 1991 and thereafter, joined Ganze secondary school. Regrettably, I had to drop out due to lack of school fees. I have touched a little bit about my family and that explains our struggles. So, I was at home and there were no prospects to expand my horizon.”
“Little did I know that I found early marriage. In that union, I became a mother. This is one of the practices that must be curbed especially for underage children.”
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“I was not content to be a housewife so I took a keen interest in matters affecting communities and became a vocal voice for the vulnerable, that’s when I decided to join active politics to make a change in society through policy-making,” she noted.
Jumwa contested in 1997 and was elected as a chairperson of Kilifi town council- a position she served for five years and was re-elected for another term.
National Assembly Deputy-Speaker Gladys Boss was also touched by Jumwa’s narration as she also admitted to holding back her tears.
“I was also holding back tears when I listened to your tears every time I hear it and I have heard it many times. That’s an amazing journey,” she noted.
During the vetting process, Jumwa revealed that she has a net worth of Ksh100 million.
The Kenyan Constitution does not narrow down academic and technical qualifications a CS nominee should possess before the appointment.
Katiba Institute, on the other hand, observed that the vetting to relate the candidate’s experience to the Ministry concerned, in a general way.
“It clearly lacks the capacity to consider technical competence in detail. But our MPs are mostly thrown out each election (this time 62%), so committees may not even be formed…Anyway, parliamentarians do not seem very focused on developing the sort of expertise that would enable them to inquire seriously into a CS nominee’s technical ability,” reads a statement by Jill Cottrel Ghai and Yash Pal Ghai written for the Katiba Institute.