On March 18 2024, Kenyans were treated to surprising and unbelievable news following the sudden resignation of Kenya National Trading Corporation (KNTC) boss Hon. Pamela Mutua. This occurred at a time when the DCI, EACC, and other criminal justice systems were highly alert due to a multi-billion scandal that had rocked the nation in late 2023.
According to media reports, despite being linked to the scandal, Mutua was praised by President William Ruto in April 2023 for ostensibly exposing corrupt government officials who were fleecing the government by inflating the cost of commodities during a food crisis.
In his remarks, President William Ruto revealed that Mutua had brought to his attention that corrupt government officials had inflated the quoted price for the supply of a bag of rice from Ksh5,000 to Ksh7,300.
Hon. Pamela Mutua during a past event
“We have some bad people sitting in a certain Ministry of Public Works in the Department of Materials Supplies who were busy increasing the prices of commodities in the middle of the food crisis,” Ruto remarked at the time.
Hon. Pamela Mutua’s sudden exit from KNTC has today taken a new twist following the emergence of confirmed reports that she was forced to step down after being implicated in the scandal that saw Kenyan taxpayers lose approximately Kshs 16,000,000 during Moses Kuria’s tenure as the CS for Trade and Investment.
The new reports have also revealed how Pamela was cornered and temporarily detained in DCI HQs where she was forced to record a statement regarding what she knew as the boss of KNTC.
According to fresh details, Hon. Pamela Mutua, who was the boss of the state-owned corporation, handpicked those who benefited from the tenders to import cooking oil to the country, which was meant to lower the cost of cooking oil at the time.
Those who were handpicked, according to reports, are companies owned by powerful government officials who did nothing other than pocket billions of shillings.
What shocked Kenyans and has continued to shock then up-to-date is the fact that Pamela and Co looted billions of money at the expense of Kenyans who were battling high cost of basic commodities’ prices that had been occasioned by the Kenya Shilling that was trading against the dollar at Kshs 160.
