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Kenyan president suspends minister over corruption charges

Other News Materials 20 October 2010 11:21 (UTC +04:00)
Kenya's president has suspended a high-profile minister facing charges over an allegedly corrupt land deal.

Kenya's president has suspended a high-profile minister facing charges over an allegedly corrupt land deal, DPA reported.

Mwai Kibaki, in a statement issued Tuesday evening, said Higher Education Minister William Ruto had been suspended pending the result of a court case against him.

Ruto, who denies any wrongdoing, is accused of defrauding the government of 1.2 million dollars in the 2001 sale of 100 acres of land near the capital Nairobi.

The minister was a strong opponent of Kenya's new constitution, under which public officials accused of corruption or economic crimes are barred from holding office.

Ruto has been accused of corruption in the past and is rumoured to be one of the top Kenyan politicians who could face an International Criminal Court arrest warrant at the end of this year.

The ICC is investigating the violence that claimed over 1,000 lives following the 2007 disputed presidential elections.

A report by Kenya's human rights commission about the violence implicated Ruto and other senior government figures.

Ruto has fallen out with Prime Minister Raila Odinga - both belong to the same party - and earlier this year was removed from the more prestigious agriculture ministry.

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