Jomo Kenyatta's Son Uhuru

Jomo Kenyatta’s Son Uhuru, named as Kenya’s Finance Minister – Reports Eric Ombok

Jan. 23 2009 - Kenya appointed Uhuru Kenyatta, the son of Jomo Kenyatta, the country’s first president, as minister of finance and deputy prime minister, the presidency said in an e-mailed statement.

Kenyatta, who was the east African country’s trade minister, replaces Amos Kimunya, who resigned last July over corruption allegations.

Jomo Kenyatta fought and got independence from Britain in 1963 and served as President until his death on Aug. 22, 1978.

Kimunya has been cleared of any wrong doing by a tribunal appointed by President Mwai Kibaki and was today appointed Trade Minister, according to the statement.

Both Kimunya and Kenyatta are members of President Kibaki’s Party of National Unity.

Franklin Bett, a lawmaker from Prime Minister Raila Odinga’s Orange Democratic Movement, was made roads minister to replace Kipkalya Kones, who died in a plane crash in June.

Kones’ widow, Beatrice Pauline Kones, who won a by-election to replace her husband as a lawmaker, becomes minister of home affairs to replace Lorna Laboso, who also died in the crash, the presidency said. Kones is a member of Odinga’s party.

Uhuru faces many tests at Treasury ~ Sat, Jan 24 2009
President Kibaki has appointed his third Finance minister in six years. The act is especially significant because the predecessors of Uhuru Kenyatta have left the job under a cloud.

David Mwiraria was forced to leave by the career-terminating Anglo Leasing deals while his successor Amos Kimunya was drummed out of Treasury after accusations over wrong-doing in the sale of the Grand Regency hotel.

In truth, in the court of public opinion it is still debatable whether the two have been cleared. But that did not stop Mr Kibaki from reappointing the latter two.

Indeed, Mr Kenyatta might be forgiven for thinking that public opinion does not count for much, a position Mr Kibaki appears to hold dear.

That fact does not deter us from advising Mr Kenyatta to restore integrity at Treasury where it has proved elusive for three decades now. Granted, the temptations will always be there, particularly as politicians prepare to fund the 2012 campaigns.

There are lucrative deals for printing currency, tamper-proof passports, smart driving licences, the Sh37 billion food imports and a raft of infrastructure projects in the works.

For Mr Kenyatta to distinguish himself, he can’t afford to wallow with the pigs that populate the bureaucracy and politics in Kenya.

And if he opts for this path, his economic agenda would be dead in the water. As he addresses what is nominally the largest budget deficit in Kenya’s history, Mr Kenyatta needs all the resources he can muster.

After addressing the famine, he must go flat out to ensure that private sector productivity and production hit optimum level.

This can only be achieved through rationalising our taxes to fit our economic ambitions and putting up world-class infrastructure and bureaucracy.

Invigoration of our private sector would make us internationally competitive in addition to harnessing the energy of frustrated young Kenyans who might otherwise pose a security threat.