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President William Ruto addressed the nation on Sunday evening, shedding light on the international arbitration deal with Italian President Sergio Mattarella concerning the Kimwarer and Arror dam scandal.
He emphasized that the agreement for Kenya and the Italian contractors to drop international arbitration cases did not impact the ongoing criminal proceedings within Kenya.
The President's clarification comes on the heels of the acquittal of former Treasury CS Henry Rotich on Thursday, December 14. The court ruled in favor of Rotich, citing prosecutorial errors as the reason for his exoneration.
During a media interview, President Ruto remarked on the Kimwarer case, labeling it a political ploy and reiterating his commitment to steering clear of politically motivated prosecutions.
He emphasized his support for an independent criminal justice system, assuring the public that no individual would face legal action based on political affiliations.
"Under my administration, there is nobody who will be prosecuted because of politics or because they are not aligned to this way and that way," President Ruto affirmed.
However, he emphasized that the principle applied both ways, stating, "That because you are a politician or because you are a friend of the president or because you are an appointee of the president you are not prosecuted. That one I have said in public and I have told every Cabinet minister.
"Nobody should go to their office and tell them the president has sent them or they are a relative of Mr. X or Mr. Y. I will not send anybody to any office to do anything,” he said.
President Ruto shifted the discussion to the dams, accusing the previous administration of hindering the projects, leading to substantial financial losses.
He highlighted the government's failure to provide the required land for the dams, citing it as a major roadblock.
He said when the government blocked the projects, the contractors filed a case against Kenya, seeking Sh40 billion for violation of the agreement.
"I have had to go and negotiate with Italy for us to settle because we were going to pay Sh40 billion for nothing, without anything on the ground,” he said.
President Ruto clarified that the negotiations with the Italian president focused on dropping contractual cases filed in London, emphasizing that it had no bearing on the local criminal case against former CS Rotich.
The bilateral agreement between Kenya and Italy involved withdrawing all contractual cases related to the dam scandal.
"These were very different cases. The cases in Kenya were criminal, while the arbitration cases were contractual," President Ruto explained.
He concluded by addressing the lengthy duration of the criminal cases in Kenya, noting that they started even before his assumption of office and had faced numerous delays without progress.