‘Everybody Has Got a Stain’: Waiguru Fires Back at NYS Scandal Critics
Kirinyaga Governor Anne Waiguru has fired back at her critics who keep bringing up the National Youth Service (NYS) scandal , arguing that it’s time to move on from the whole thing. She feels like this one issue has been unfairly defining her political career all these years after it first came to light.
Speaking in an interview on Citizen TV’s Sunday Live, Waiguru gave her side of the story and questioned why the NYS scandal still keeps turning up in discussions about her time in office. She reckons those who were actually responsible for the scandal have already faced the consequences – so why is it still being dragged up ?
“Everyone gets to have some kind of blemish on their record. You know the real deal about NYS, you know who was actually involved. They’ve gone after the people who were actually responsible,” Waiguru said.
Waiguru called out her critics for always bringing up the NYS scandal, suggesting that they’re doing it just to try and take a pot shot at her reputation, because they can’t come up with anything else to say.
Waiguru Hits Back at Critics Over NYS Scandal
She got pretty frustrated when talking about how often the NYS scandal keeps coming up, saying that if some of her critics were really interested in looking at her leadership, they’d have moved on to other topics by now.
“Anyone who brings up that old story is just throwing mud because they can’t find something decent to attack me with, that was 15 years ago. By now you’d think they’d have something else to go on,” she said.
This was a clear attempt by Waiguru to put a stop to the NYS scandal being constantly linked to her name, something that made a lot of waves when she was still Cabinet Secretary for Devolution and Planning.
Waiguru still thinks that people should look at the whole thing in the context of the actual investigations and prosecutions that took place.
Waiguru Cites Re-Election to Defend Her Leadership Record
The Kirinyaga governor is patently unapologetic about pointing to her electoral wins as proof that the public has her back.
Waiguru was first elected to the top job back in 2017, already a historic achievement as the first woman to occupy the position. And five years later, the voters did it again, handing her a second term in the 2022 General Election.
“ Two elections, two wins,” she points out, a fact that she reckons proves more than just her own enduring popularity. By bringing it up, Waiguru wants to divert attention from the controversy that’s been dogging her – the NYS fiasco.
Her comments come amid a national debate that’s been raging over accountability, trust in politicians and the long-term damage that corruption scandals can do to a leaders reputation.
What Was the NYS Scandal in Kenya?
The NYS scandal is just about as damaging as it gets, it centres around the alleged siphoning off and wasteful spending of public cash at this state agency. Its caused investigations and court cases, and managed to get itself all over the front pages for an extended period of time.
It was a pretty big deal during Waigurus time as Devolution and Planning Cabinet Secretary. and still has plenty of people talking today. The figures involved range from a massive KSh791 million to KSh1.8 billion, and there may be even more cash entangled in the scandal in the form of ongoing claims and extensions.
The scandal had officials involved in questionable dealings facing court , and Waigurus latest defence is that those responsible have been held to account.
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‘Everybody Has Got a Stain’: Waiguru Fires Back at NYS Scandal Critics
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