Kalonzo reveals what he told Mating’i on phone hours before the arrest of KEBS boss

janet ndila

June 23, 2018 11:36 AM

Phone call came as government crackdown on illegal sugar cartels continues

Wiper Party leader Kalonzo Musyoka has disclosed that he called Interior CS Fred Matiangi before the Kenya Bureau of Standards MD Charles Ongwae was arrested.

Addressing the public at a funeral in Machakos on Friday, Kalonzo divulged it was his first phone call to Matiangi after so long.

Shortly afterwards, KEBS MD Charles Ongwae alongside 9 others and taken for questioning at the DCI over the importation of substandard goods, the latest being the contaminated sugar that is currently in the country.

“I actually called Dr. Matiangi yesterday, I haven’t called him for long so I think it’s something to do with this handshakes, to encourage him because if you do not know how government work, the minister for interior cannot just open his mouth just like that,” Kalonzo divulged.

The conversation centered on the influx of substandard goods and contaminated sugar that has found its way into the country, with the Wiper party leader encouraging the CS to take action on suspects involved in the contraband sugar business.

The NASA principal noted that the Sugar cartels have killed the local sugar industry that was the life-line of Western Kenya, resulting in many job losses.

He hailed the government for the quick arrest of the KEBS officials and the spirited efforts to bring unscrupulous traders to justice.

The sugar scandal has so far seen CS Matiangi and Trade and Industry CS Adan Mohamed issue contradicting statements on the safety of the sugar that has been confirmed to contain high levels of copper and mercury.

janet ndila