Thursday, June 15, 2023 – The bribery case involving Kiambu Deputy Speaker John Njue took an interesting turn yesterday after he invoked the name of Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua.
Njue, who is also the Hospital Ward Member of the County Assembly (MCA), was arrested on Tuesday, June 13, by Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) officers for soliciting a Ksh130,000 bribe and demanding a piece of prime land from a constituent in exchange for assistance in navigating bureaucratic hurdles to obtain approval to run commercial activities on the property.
However, in his defence, Njue vehemently denied the accusations claiming that he was approached by businesspeople who wanted to start a club in the estate in Thika but he refused to help them since that would be against Gachagua’s directive on bars.
“Some people called me and said they want to start a club in an estate and I outrightly refused.”
“We firmly uphold our position as both the Kiambu County and national government that clubs within residential areas are strictly prohibited,” he emphasized.
Gachagua has been actively leading a relentless campaign against drug abuse, particularly in Central Kenya.
The MCA invoked this campaign as part of his defense, stating, “Even the Deputy President has approved this stand.”
“As such, as the public officials responsible for issuing club permits, we are not going to allow them in estates. We shall also review all permits already awarded,” he added
However, the Speaker contradicted himself over what transpired before the alleged bribe was offered.
Initially, he remarked, “They gave me money and I refused to take it. It is then that they reported me to EACC and I wrote a statement.”
He later recanted that statement and stated, “About the money, I heard it first at EACC. I have never asked for any money.”
Njue further noted that he was not in a position to ask for any payment since he was not the receiving authority for county payments.
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