Leave me out of your political narratives and innuendos, Manduku tells off politicians linking KPA exit to “privatisation” plot

Former Kenya Ports Authority Managing Director, Daniel Manduku, has dismissed remarks by Nyali MP Mohammed ali that he was pushed out of the port due to alleged privatisation of sections of the institution.



In a statement to the media, Manduku, who resigned from the KPA in March 2020, said “it is preposterous for anybody to purport to explain my exit in any other way”.



“My attention has been drawn to a statement by the aforementioned Member of the National Assembly, to the effect that my exit as Managing Director of the Kenya Ports Authority was a result of anything other than a personal decision,” said Manduku.



“I wish to state in no uncertain terms that my tenure at the Port was a fulfilling one and I left with my head held high because of the many firsts that the Parastatal recorded while I served as MD, a duty I discharged with diligence and unwavering commitment until when I left the Port to pursue personal undertakings, including family business.



“As a diligent public servant, I dedicated myself to protecting the interests of the KPA on behalf of the public and at no time did I encounter or have to deal with interests other than those whose ultimate outcome was for public good and as such I hereby dissociate myself with the assertions by Hon Ali.”



Addressing the media in Nairobi, Ali alleged that there was a ploy to privatize upto 80% of the port naming several politicians who are beneficiaries of the scheme, including Mombasa Governor Hassan Ali Joho and Mvita legislator Abdulswamad Nassir.



He alleged that Manduku was forced out of the KPA after failing to allow the alleged privatisation of Container Terminal 2 at the port.



“This is the biggest and the best in Africa and Manduku was forced out after refusing to agree to the shaky plan,” Ali said.



Ali, the journalist elected as an Independent Candidate, recently sought to have Transport Cabinet Secretary James Macharia but his motion was thrown out by Speaker Justin Muturi, who found that the motion was making “unsubstantiated claims”.