Tourism Cabinet Secretary Najib Balala has dismissed claims that officers from the Ethics and Anti Corruption Commission (EACC) raided his home on Friday to probe him over alleged bribery involving a Sh100m tender his ministry allegedly gave to a local firm.
Balala maintains that no contract in the ministry of tourism has ever been issued on a bribery basis and that proceedings at the ministry are transparent and critical.
Communicating via his twitter handle Friday evening, Balala termed the allegations as ill-mannered.
“No raids have taken place at my house as claimed by The Standard Newspaper today, the journalist was aware prior to publishing the report of the same. My legal team is handling the matter,” Balala tweeted.
The reaction comes amid claims by DCI boss George Kinoti and DPP Noordin Haji that a number of cabinet secretaries have allegedly received bribes in foreign countries so as to award tenders.
Balala rejected the claims that his homes in Nairobi, Mombasa and Kilifi had been raided by EACC detectives. He further mentioned in the tweet that he has instructed his legal team to take stern defamatory claims to the media that published the statement.
Balala who has been in the tourist docket since 2013 expressed his confidence that the tourism ministry is among the best performing ministries in Kenya and said the number of tourists visiting the country has rapidly risen in the last two years.
He said he is a law abiding citizen and is ready to cooperate with the government in the fight against graft.