Goldenberg Commission of Inquiry Report - Mars Group Kenya

i. Sole rights to export diamond jewellery and gold out of Kenya for a
period of 5 years with the option of an extra 5 years.
ii. 35% Export Compensation on diamond jewellery and gold exports in
order to effectively compete with smugglers of those commodities.
iii. Because it hoped to handle cash transactions of at least Kshs.
200,000 monthly it needed to own a financial company to reduce
security risks, and provide an efficient working environment. It
would also reduce their operation expenses. The proposed name for
the financial institution would be Goldenberg Finance Ltd.
79. A careful look at the contents of the application reveals that
it was not meant to be a serious application but for a purpose other than
serious business. Why do we say so? Firstly, the application opens with
a categorical statement regarding Kenya’s mineral wealth, and in
particular diamond supply. The opening paragraph reads thus:
“Kenya has a lot of mineral wealth which is not being
exploited properly. Among its mineral wealth, Kenya has
a reasonable supply of Diamonds and gold. A reasonable
amount of gold is mined in Pokot and Kerio Valley while
the source of Diamonds is also available. Most of these
Diamonds and Gold are bought by many jewelers and
other businessmen who have smuggled these precious
minerals out of Kenya as a form of siphoning their wealth
overseas. Despite the abundant amount of Gold and
diamonds being bought in Kenya no amount is seen to be
officially exported to earn Kenya the badly needed Foreign
Exchange.”
80. If we pause there, evidence was adduced before us that no
diamonds are mined locally, and gold supply is limited. Mr. Pattni,
under whose hand the application was made testified as much, but
argued that he was referring to smuggled diamonds and gold. Be that as
it may, the fact is that no diamonds were mined in Kenya but
nonetheless it was falsely stated that some were mined here. The Vice-
President and Minister for Finance, was then Prof. George Saitoti. It
cannot be said that he did not know that Kenya did not have diamonds
as a mineral resource. He had held the post of Minister for Finance for
long. Neither him nor the then Permanent Secretary in that Ministry,
Mr. Charles Mbindyo, raised the issue. Both of them read the