Journalist Salim Swaleh has stirred public emotions with a heartfelt, self-recorded video in which he begs his former boss, Prime Cabinet Secretary and Foreign and Diaspora Affairs CS Musalia Mudavadi, for forgiveness.
In the video, Swaleh, who is embroiled in a draining legal battle, reaches out to Mudavadi to atone for his past actions and seeks assistance as his financial resources dwindle.
Swaleh lamented that he was being exploited by both lawyers and police as his case drags on in court.
“Every time we go there lawyers are on my neck, police are on my neck, everybody is extorting me left, right, centre they think I have a lot of money. But every time we go there we are told the prosecution has not received any direction on what should happen to the case and lawyers would want it to continue that way because every session they take money from us, police take money from us,” he expressed.
Breaking down multiple times in the video, Swaleh shared how his financial situation has rapidly deteriorated.
He feared that poverty was staring at him with e**l eyes due to his salary being cut off while monthly bills continue to mount.
“It is end month bills are piling up, salary stopped abruptly. I have loans. Please find it in your heart first to forgive me but secondly please help end this so that I can pick up small small pieces that are just left and see where I begin with the kind of publicity that I got. It is almost impossible to get another place to work. Please have mercy on me. Thank sir,” he pleaded.
Reactions
The video has struck a chord with many Kenyans, who have urged Mudavadi to show compassion and forgive Swaleh.
Prominent figures have also voiced their support for the embattled journalist. Former Nairobi Governor Mike Sonko expressed doubt about Swaleh’s involvement in the alleged scandal.
“I know Salim Swaleh very well. I doubt whether he was involved in the scandal at the prime minister’s office. I think kuna Mtu, who’s trying to fix him. Uwongo ni mfupi sana he will soon be vindicated. Wait and see,” Sonko commented.
Nairobi politician and philanthropist Alinur Mohamed encouraged Swaleh to share his contact information so that well-wishers could assist him financially.
“Salim Swaleh should bring his phone number or paybill so that Kenyans can stand with him financially during these difficult times of his life. Mheshimiwa Musalia Mudavadi should also forgive him and withdraw the case. We are all humans,” Mohamed wrote on X.
Ksh5.8 million fraud
Swaleh, along with four others, faces charges of conspiring to defraud Ksh5.8 million from an engineering consultancy company.
The said crime occurred between June 4 and June 22, 2014, at the Prime Cabinet Secretary’s office, specifically at the office of the Director of Press Services in Nairobi County.
According to the charge sheet, the group is accused of falsely pretending to be in a position to secure a tender for the construction of two stadiums in Kenya, knowing the claim to be false.