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El Salvador's leader Nayib Bukele orders graft probe on his ministers

El Salvador's President Nayib Bukele, speaks during the launch ceremony of Google El Salvador in San Salvador, El Salvador, April 15, 2024. (Reuters)

By Mwangi Maina | Tuesday, April 30, 2024

This announcement from the outspoken president caught some members of his government off guard.

El Salvador's President Nayib Bukele made a surprising move on Friday when he gathered every official in the executive branch of his government and announced a decision to launch an inquiry into bribery allegations against them.

This unexpected announcement from the outspoken president, known for his aggressive stance against gang violence in the Central American nation, caught some members of his government off guard.

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Bukele instructed the Attorney General to investigate the allegations, as captured in a video posted by him on X platform.

"You can see that everyone here is from the executive branch. From the executive branch that I oversee, except for one person- the Attorney General. He's not part of the executive branch, but he's here for a simple reason," said Bukele during the meeting.

"I want to ask him publicly to investigate everyone sitting here. Retroactively and into the future. I imagine that there should be no problem with that," he said.

The move is seen as a strike against graft in his country, and he was praised by social media users.

It also comes weeks after Bukele launched a lethal counterstrike against gangs and mafia in El Salvador.

Addressing the assembled members, Bukele passionately declared that they had nothing to fear from the Attorney General.

"Someone once asked me if I am afraid of death. I said, of course, nobody wants to die. I don't want to die. But I know that I'll die someday, like anyone else, death is the one thing we can't escape," he said.

Bukele, who has been in power since 2019 argued he was afraid of "leaving a bad legacy".

"There are some presidents, some in prison and some on the run, they are remembered as criminals. That's not how I want to be remembered."

He emphasised that he refrains from stealing because he refuses to be remembered as a corrupt leader.

"But for one president, President [Rodrigo] Duarte, people back then used to say, the President isn't a thief, but he surrounded himself with thieves,"

"There was a time when he offered hope for the Salvadoran people. But even if it's true he didn't steal, he was foolish because he was the people's hope, he didn't touch a cent and still stained his legacy by surrounding himself with thieves."

"That won't happen to me. I won't be the president who didn't steal but was surrounded by criminals. I want to be remembered as the president who didn't steal and didn't let anyone else steal, either."