Pressure on the beleaguered Finance minister Amos Kimunya to resign mounted Tuesday with some MPs asking President Kibaki to intervene in the Grand Regency Hotel scandal.

The eight MPs linked to the Grand Opposition lobby, held a peaceful demonstration from Parliament to the entrance of the hotel, about one kilometre away.

They vowed to continue holding the demonstrations until the minister either resigned or was sacked by the President, who is attending an African Union Heads of State summit in Egypt.

The MPs, who included Mr Cyrus Jirongo (Lugari), Mr Ababu Namwamba (Budalang'i), Mr Kiema Kilonzo (Mutito), Ms Rachel Shebesh (Nominated) and Mr Julius Kones (Konoin), said they would not relent until the hotel reverted back to the public from the new owners.

Others were Mr Mithika Linturi (Igembe South), Mr Charles Kilonzo (Yatta) and Mr Lucas Kigen (Rongai).

The ODM Embakasi parliamentary loser, Ms Esther Passaris, also took part in the demonstration.

Mr Jirongo said: "We want Kimunya to be sacked, taken to court and then to Kamiti. We will hold another demo on Thursday to the Treasury to eject him (minister) unless he steps aside or is sacked by the President."

The leaders also appealed to their colleagues in the Cabinet to exert more pressure on President Kibaki and the Government to ensure the truth about the shady sale was exposed.

Ms Shebesh described the controversial sale of the five-star hotel on prime land in the city centre as "the tip of the iceberg", saying more grand scandals were yet to be unearthed.

Ms Shebesh, who is a member of the South African-based Pan African Parliament, said: "We are in the Coalition Government, which is only three months old, but we will not allow it to be tainted with graft for the next four years."

Yatta MP Mr Charles Kilonzo described the sale as "theft of the highest order", saying it was a test case for the Grand Coalition over its commitment to the war against graft.

Meanwhile, Defence assistant minister Joseph Nkaisserry Tuesday demanded that Mr Kimunya resign over the controversial sale of the hotel.

Should be jailed

"If he cannot resign, then President Kibaki should fire him. The man should go to jail," he said.

The hotel, which has been at the centre of a dispute between Goldenberg architect Kamlesh Pattni and the Government before its handover earlier this year, was sold for Sh1.8 billion, Lands minister James Orengo revealed on Monday.

The Finance minister had earlier said the hotel had not been sold but later revealed the sale, initially reported at Sh2.9bn, after Mr Orengo blew the whistle on the secret sale last week.

Mr Kimunya has insisted that all procurement procedures were followed before the hotel was sold.

Civil society has written to President Kibaki and Prime Minister Raila Odinga demanding the immediate sacking of key Government officials implicated in the Grand Regency saga.

Speaking under the auspices of the Centre for Law and Research International, they demanded the sacking of Mr Kimunya and Attorney-General Amos Wako.

They also urged the President and Mr Odinga to remove from office Kenya Anti Corruption Commission director Aaron Ringera and Central Bank governor Njuguna Ndung'u.

Revealing the contents of the open letter to journalists in Nairobi, the lobby group said the four named Government officials had failed to account for the controversial sale of the five-star hotel.

The officials had handled the transfer of the hotel in a questionable manner warranting their dismissal, they added.

Should Mr Kimunya fail to be sacked within seven days, the civil society members said they would file a case in the courts barring him from discharging his duties as the Finance minister.

Reported by Odhiambo Orlale, John Ngirachu, Oliver Mathenge and Kibiwott Koross