Kenya’s president, Uhuru Kenyatta appointed former vice president, Moody Awori to an oversight board that will manage the sports, art and social development fund.
The appointment of the 91-year-old veteran politician was not well received by many Kenyans, who argued that the president should have selected a candidate from the larger pool of young people.
Kenyatta, however defended his decision, saying he chose Awori over ‘young people’, in the interest of securing the fund from corruption.
“If you see how young people we have trusted with positions steal public money, I would rather appoint somebody like Awori whom I am sure will protect your money and ensure it is used in the right way,’‘ the president said.
In May, authorities charged more than 50 people, most of them civil servants, in relation to the theft of nearly $100 million of public funds from the National Youth Service, a government agency.
