Kirinyaga Governor Anne Waiguru has dismissed renewed references to the National Youth Service (NYS) scandal, saying the matter was investigated and that those who continue to raise it are seeking to discredit her.
Speaking during Citizen TV’s Sunday Live programme on Sunday night, Waiguru said the scandal should no longer be used to undermine her political record, arguing that its nearly 15 years later and critics should have other issues to raise.
“NYS was one. And first of all, talking of stains, everybody’s got a stain,” Waiguru said during the interview with host Jeff Koinange.
She said the people involved in the scandal had been prosecuted, adding that continued references to the matter were intended to cast aspersions on her.
“You know the true story about NYS. You know who was involved. They have prosecuted the people who were involved,” she said.
“Anyone who brings up that story just wants to throw mud because they can’t find something. Fifteen years later, by now you should be having something else,” she added.
Waiguru also pointed to her electoral record, saying she had been elected governor twice.
“I’ve been elected twice, Jeff. I’ve been elected twice. First woman governor to be elected two times,” she said.
The remarks revisit a scandal that emerged in 2015 when Waiguru was Cabinet Secretary for Devolution and Planning, with investigations focusing on alleged fraudulent payments involving millions at the NYS.
The scandal drew national attention because NYS, a government agency involved in youth empowerment and training, was at the centre of allegations of the loss of public funds.
Waiguru denied wrongdoing at the time. In 2016, the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission said its investigations had not established evidence warranting an adverse recommendation against her. Several other people were investigated and prosecuted in cases connected to the scandal.
During Sunday’s interview, Waiguru insisted that the matter should not continue to define her career, pushing back when journalist Jeff Koinange referred to the scandal as a stain on her record.
She also challenged the idea that a past controversy should permanently overshadow a public official’s subsequent political career, citing her two election victories in Kirinyaga County.
Waiguru was first elected governor in 2017 and secured a second term in the 2022 General Election.
While Waiguru maintains that those responsible were prosecuted and that continued references to the case are politically motivated, her remarks restate her longstanding position that she should not be held responsible for wrongdoing she denies committing.
