2006年VOA标准英语-Kenya's Central Bank Chief Charged with Co

By Cathy Majtenyi
Nairobi
23 March 2006
 
The governor of Kenya's Central Bank has been charged with four counts of abuse of office for allegedly awarding lucrative² contracts in violation³ of procurement⁴ procedures.

Andrew Mullei pleaded not guilty to the charges that were read out in an anti-corruption⁵ court Thursday.

A spokesman for the Kenya Anti-Corruption Commission, Nicholas Simani, describes to VOA the allegations against Mullei.

"He used his said office to improperly⁷ confer a benefit on Silla Mullei by appointing him as a consultant⁸ for the Central Bank without following the laid-down procedures," he said.  "He used his office improperly to confer a benefit to a professor T. [Terry] Ryan by again appointing him as a consultant, and again, improper⁶ conferring a benefit to Mr. Melville Smith."

Silla Mullei is said to be Mullei's son.  Mullei also allegedly hired Titus Mwirigi on contract without abiding⁹ to procurement procedures.

The Central Bank governor was released on a cash bond, with his trial scheduled for June.

The executive director of Transparency International - Kenya, Mwalimu Mati, tells VOA Mullei should step aside during the trial.

"Clearly, we have the governor of the Central Bank in charge of public finances, I think because he is being charged with abuse of office, the best thing would be for him to resign, or at the very least offer to step aside from running the bank pending¹⁰ the conclusion of this case against him," he said.

The allegations against the central bank governor are the latest in a series of corruption scandals facing the government of President Mwai Kibaki, who was elected at the end of 2002 on a strong anti-corruption platform. Mullei has been in office since 2003.

Three government ministers have resigned this year amid corruption allegations.  The government is currently grappling with two major corruption scandals.

The "Goldenberg Affair" was a credit scheme set up by the previous government to purchase bogus exports of gold and diamonds, while the "Anglo Leasing" scandal involved the setting up of fictitious¹¹ companies that were almost awarded lucrative contracts to supply security and defense¹² services.

Several ministers in the current government are alleged¹ to have been involved in the Anglo Leasing scandal.

1 alleged   

a.被指控的，嫌疑的

参考例句：

• It was alleged that he had taken bribes while in office. 他被指称在任时收受贿赂。
• alleged irregularities in the election campaign 被指称竞选运动中的不正当行为

2 lucrative   

adj.赚钱的，可获利的

参考例句：

• He decided to turn his hobby into a lucrative sideline.他决定把自己的爱好变成赚钱的副业。
• It was not a lucrative profession.那是一个没有多少油水的职业。

3 violation   

n.违反(行为)，违背(行为)，侵犯

参考例句：

• He roared that was a violation of the rules.他大声说，那是违反规则的。
• He was fined 200 dollars for violation of traffic regulation.他因违反交通规则被罚款200美元。

4 procurement   

n.采购；获得

参考例句：

• He is in charge of the procurement of materials.他负责物资的采购。
• More and more,human food procurement came to have a dominant effect on their evolution.人类获取食物愈来愈显著地影响到人类的进化。

5 corruption   

n.腐败，堕落，贪污

参考例句：

• The people asked the government to hit out against corruption and theft.人民要求政府严惩贪污盗窃。
• The old man reviled against corruption.那老人痛斥了贪污舞弊。

6 improper   

adj.不适当的，不合适的，不正确的，不合礼仪的

参考例句：

• Short trousers are improper at a dance.舞会上穿短裤不成体统。
• Laughing and joking are improper at a funeral.葬礼时大笑和开玩笑是不合适的。

7 improperly   

不正确地，不适当地

参考例句：

• Of course it was acting improperly. 这样做就是不对嘛！
• He is trying to improperly influence a witness. 他在试图误导证人。

8 consultant   

n.顾问；会诊医师，专科医生

参考例句：

• He is a consultant on law affairs to the mayor.他是市长的一个法律顾问。
• Originally,Gar had agreed to come up as a consultant.原来，加尔只答应来充当我们的顾问。

9 abiding   

adj.永久的，持久的，不变的

参考例句：

• He had an abiding love of the English countryside.他永远热爱英国的乡村。
• He has a genuine and abiding love of the craft.他对这门手艺有着真挚持久的热爱。

10 pending   

prep.直到，等待…期间；adj.待定的；迫近的

参考例句：

• The lawsuit is still pending in the state court.这案子仍在州法庭等待定夺。
• He knew my examination was pending.他知道我就要考试了。

11 fictitious   

adj.虚构的，假设的；空头的

参考例句：

• She invented a fictitious boyfriend to put him off.她虚构出一个男朋友来拒绝他。
• The story my mother told me when I was young is fictitious.小时候妈妈对我讲的那个故事是虚构的。

12 defense   

n.防御，保卫；[pl.]防务工事；辩护，答辩

参考例句：

• The accused has the right to defense.被告人有权获得辩护。
• The war has impacted the area with military and defense workers.战争使那个地区挤满了军队和防御工程人员。