The head of the Kenyan office of a global anti-corruption watchdog has been sacked over allegations of financial and other irregularities, BBC Online reports Sunday.
Executive director Mwalimu Mati denied the allegations, which arose after an audit of the books of the Kenya branch of Transparency International.
The dismissal highlights the nature of problems facing Kenya.
Three senior Kenyan government ministers have resigned over corruption claims in the past few months. This week another corruption scandal involving a bank and millions of dollars of missing taxes has dominated the headlines.
President Mwai Kibaki promised that his priority was to root out corruption when he came to power three more than three years ago.
In a country riddled by corruption, it is hard to deny the irony of the claim that the local head of one of the worlds most renowned anti-corruption agencies should be accused of exactly the practices he is supposed to be on the lookout for.
The board of directors of Transparency International Kenya said it had sacked Mr Mati because of “major anomalies and irregularities (begge ord betyder uregelmæssigheder) in contracts awarded to a company run by persons with links to the executive director” and the misuse of Transparency Internationals name for financial gain.
Mr Mati said the board of directors was undermining its own authority. – I will be taking appropriate legal action against the members of the board who are making these allegations against me, he noted.
