Health Principal Secretary Dr Nicholas Muraguri has issued a formal apology to Business Daily journalists over comments he made following publication of an exclusive story on Sh5 billion loss at the Ministry.
Dr Muraguri regretted making the comments, which elicited outrage and sharp criticism on social media.
The PS had threatened the journalist who wrote the exclusive story on the multi-billion scandal at Afya House.
“In the past few days, comments attributed to me, have been widely circulated: I would like to state that indeed, many of those comments are mine, made in circumstances around people well known to me. This is my formal apology to the journalists at Business Daily, the media fraternity, my colleagues in Government and the people of Kenya."
“My comments were unfortunate, and regrettable, and do not represent my philosophy or stand as a public servant,” read the statement sent to the Kenya Union of Journalists and Editors Guild.
The Kenya Union of Journalists (KUJ) had demanded the immediate resignation and prosecution of Dr Muraguri for defending corruption at the Ministry and sending threats to a Business Daily journalist.
“Thousands of Kenyans die every second due to lack of drugs and medical equipment in our public hospitals, but a public officer who is entrusted with this very significant responsibility of saving lives can afford to defend the loss of Sh5 billion with threats to the media,” said KUJ secretary general Erick Oduor.