Kenya's corruption investigator is sacked

Hussein Were was allegedly removed from his post on the Kenya Anti-Corruption Commission just as he was preparing a report for President Mwai Kibaki detailing the claims.

The "Anglo Leasing scandal" was uncovered when Kenya's leading anti-corruption officer, John Githongo, said government money was being paid to non-existent companies or to others that overpriced contracts. Several ministers were implicated, including Vice-President Moody Awori.

President Kibaki was criticised for not acting on a report which Mr Githongo presented to him last November. Indeed, three of the four ministers named in that report were reappointed by Mr Kibaki a month after he received it.

Since the scandal broke, aid money to the Kenyan government from international donors has been suspended, and the sacking of Mr Were will exacerbate fears that the government is not taking corruption seriously. The head of the World Bank in Kenya warned this week that the fight had stagnated.