The Lower Eastern Times Opening The Third Eye
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Lee Kinyanjui, the nominee for Trade Cabinet Secretary, has refuted claims that during his tenure as Nakuru Governor, his administration rounded up street children and abandoned them in the hyena-infested Embobut Forest in Elgeyo Marakwet County.
During his vetting before the Committee on Appointments on Tuesday, Kinyanjui dismissed these allegations as “pure fiction,” asserting that they were fabricated by political opponents to damage his reputation.
These accusations arose from a 2020 Senate report, which recommended halting Nakuru’s elevation to city status. The report alleged that street children were abandoned in Embobut and Chemasusu forests in 2019 to expedite the town’s upgrade.
Kinyanjui questioned the validity of the claims, saying, “This country has the best intelligence in the region, so why has no one ever come forward?” He also added, “Opportunities to serve should not be politicized for personal gain.”
He criticized those behind the accusations, asking, “Why is it only certain individuals connected to a specific politician that have come forward? Which family has ever spoken out? It’s pure fiction.”
In 2021, Nakuru was granted city status by former President Uhuru Kenyatta, becoming Kenya’s fourth city.
Kinyanjui, who served as Nakuru Governor for one term before losing the 2022 election, dismissed the Senate report, which had been forwarded to the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI), as politically motivated.
“I have a clear conscience. I could never have done such a thing. The people behind this know who they are. Let’s be fair,” Kinyanjui stated.
The Senate Labor Committee’s 2021 report accused Nakuru county officials of bundling 41 children into lorries and leaving them in Chemasusu Forest, Baringo. The committee, led by Nairobi Governor Johnson Sakaja, who was a senator at the time, claimed the children were removed from the streets to help secure Nakuru’s city status.
The report also stated that at least five children, aged between 10 and 12, are still missing and called on the DCI to investigate the matter, including allegations of bribing street children, and to recommend legal action.
Kinyanjui rejected the findings, calling them “at best a joke” and accusing Nakuru Senator Susan Kihika of using the Senate for personal political vendettas.
