Garissa Governor Ali Korane has said that the ongoing court case will not deter him from executing his duties as the Governor.
Korane and four others are charged with conspiracy to commit an offence of economic crime, wilful failure to comply with laws related to management of funds and misappropriation of public funds.
They are charged that between February 25 and September 30, 2019 within Garissa County they mismanaged public funds allocated to the County Government of Garissa as a conditional grant for the Kenya Urban Support Programme (KUSP) amounting to Sh. 233.506.000.
Korane who is charged alongside with Ibrahim Malow Nur, Mohamed Ahmed Abdullahi, Abdi Shale and Ahmed Abdullahi Aden was also barred from accessing his office.
Addressing the press at his residence today Korane said he will continue running his government as per the law adding that ‘nothing has changed’.
Korane assured Garissa residents that the court case would not hinder service delivery.
The Governor announced that he will preside over a cabinet meeting at his residence on Monday next week to deliberate on execution of government mandate.
He further appealed to members of the public to discard endless politicking over his pending case, adding that they should co-exist peacefully and go about their work without being pre-occupied by the court case.
“There is nothing tribal, clan or personal about the court case. It’s an occupational hazard. Using poets and folk songs to polarise the public because of the court case is uncalled for,” Korane said.
He said it his duty to defend himself in the case and assured residents that no money was misused or lost and that the matter before court only touched on willful failure to comply with laws related to management of public funds.
The Governor also expressed concern over delays by the National Treasury to release funds to the counties resulting in the county staff going without salaries for two months now.
On the advisory by Chief Justice David Maranga for desolation of Parliament, the Governor urged President Uhuru Kenyatta not to heed the call saying it could plunge the country into unprecedented crisis.
Korane said that country is faced with Covid-19 pandemic which has brought untold suffering and Kenyans should not be distracted from more serious issues.
Instead the Governor urged President Kenyatta to form a 10-member committee chaired by a woman to resolve the impasse on the gender representation in the National Assembly.
By Jacob Songok
