National Land Commission chairman Muhammad Swazuri [PHOTO/nation.co.ke]
National Land Commission chairman Muhammad Swazuri has declined to respond to allegations of bribery levelled against him even after commissioners held a closed-door meeting with him.
After the Friday meeting where journalists were locked out, and which lasted for close to three hours at the ACK Gardens Annex in Nairobi, the chair was later whisked away by his bodyguards with journalists blocked from taking pictures.
Also, none of the commissioners was willing to disclose the details of the meeting as questions from journalists were left unanswered.
The meeting was convened following investigations into bribery claims against Swazuri and what now appears to be a split at the commission.
The commission's deputy Abigael Mbagaya had earlier denied that the meeting was convened to discuss Swazuri's conduct and said it would only discuss “normal operations”.
“No, this is not a crisis meeting. Where did you get that information from? You know the commission sits regularly to determine matters that are in our mandate and that is what we are doing today,” she said.
In March, Swazuri was accused of asking for a bribe and attempting to defraud former journalist Mugo Njeru in his land case.