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Kajiado North MP, Prof George Saitoti and his Imenti North counterpart Kiraitu Murungi yesterday made a come-back to the Cabinet nine months after corruption scandals forced them out.

In a press release by the Presidential Press Service (PPS), President Kibaki also appointed nine new assistant ministers and made changes in two other dockets.

Kibaki, who celebrated his birth day yesterday, directed that Prof Saitoti resumes his responsibilities as Minister for Education while Kiraitu goes back to his Energy docket.

But in a swift rejoinder, Official Opposition Kanu and Langata MP Raila Odinga dismissed the appointments as unconstitutional and illegal, accusing the President of abetting corruption by recycling individuals who resigned from the Government under pressure of corruption allegations from Kenyans.

The party emerged from a Parliamentary Group meeting yesterday to find that four of its members had been poached to the Government.

Secretary-General William Ruto accused the President of abusing the constitution to serve political interests.

“The President should be in the forefront of upholding the constitution but he has decided to abuse it as a matter of choice and Kenyans will judge him at the appropriate forum,” he said.

Raila speaking in Mombasa, during the burial of the son of Changamwe MP Ramadhan Kajembe claimed the re-instatement was enough prove that the government had failed in its war against graft.

“This is a clear sign that the government has failed in its war against corruption. Why did they sack the two when they clearly knew that they would reinstate them later?” posed Raila.

However, Kenya National Union of Teachers (KNUT) welcomed Saitoti’s return with optimism that he would renegotiate with them the remaining phases of the teachers’ salaries.

An exuberant KNUT Secretary-General Francis Ng’ang’a said it was Prof Saitoti who re-ignited the negotiations upon his appointment in 2003 and that the deal was almost complete by the time of his temporary departure from the ministry.

Prof Saitoti, who served retired President Daniel arap Moi as Vice-President, resigned from Kibaki’s Government in February after he was adversely mentioned by a Judicial inquiry into the multi-billion shilling Goldenberg affair chaired by Justice Samuel Bosire.

He later moved to the High Court challenging the move by the government to prefer against him with fresh charges over the Goldenberg scam. And in a historic ruling last June three Court of Appeal Judges Joseph Nyamu, Roselyn Wendo and Mathew Emukule cleared Professor Saitoti of all the charges levelled against him.

The former Vice-President was later to describe the day of the ruling as "the happiest ever in his 16-year political career."

Saitoti, the former mathematics professor at the University of Nairobi, has been synonymous with the Free Primary Education (FPE) introduced by President Kibaki administration upon assuming power in 2003.

Well respected both locally and abroad, Prof Saitoti has been credited with overseeing the successful implementation of FPE that has so far seen the enrolment of more than 100,000 pupils in primary schools across the country.

This is the second time for Prof Saitoti to bounce back into the government after being shown the door. Former President Moi once dropped him as his Vice-President, only to reappoint him months later.

Kiraitu was sidelined for allegedly attempting to corrupt former Ethics and Governance Permanent Secretary John Githongo and asking him to go slow on investigations on the Anglo-Leasing scandal.

He, however, exonerated himself from Githongo’s allegations, dismissing them as “malicious claims meant to dent his closeness to President Kibaki.”

However, missing from the list was former Cabinet Minister David Mwiraria (Finance) who resigned after he was also accused by Githongo of sanctioning fictitious deals involving the shadowy Anglo Leasing Finance Company and former powerful Internal Security minister Dr Chris Murungaru who was dropped after being banned from setting foot in the United Kingdom and the USA.