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[The Attorney-General]
touch the tip of the iceberg. Export compensation was merely one of the vehicles used to
take public funds irregularly and although the existing tenns of reference have the omnibus
clause and I quote:-
"To enquire into and investigate any other matter that is incidental to
or connected with the foregoing, II
it is necessary for the sake of clarity and avoidance of doubt that your terms of reference
be expanded to include these other schemes. These other schemes are interlinked and
intertwined with the export compensation scheme and it is important that the Commission
critically analyses them because they were also catalytic to the scandal. The terms of
reference have therefore been expanded to include amongst others as an area of your
enquiry, the real discounting facility for pre-export bills of exchange popularly known as
pre-shipment finance, convertible foreign exchange bearer certificates popularly known as
Forex C, cheque kiting, insider trading et cetera. All these schemes operated simultaneously
and were managed by Central Bank of Kenya and, therefore, calls into question the
management of the Central Bank of Kenya at that time.
The expansion of your mandate is therefore to fulfil the objective of His Excellency the
President, your appointing authority that you inquire into all issues pertaining to the
Goldenberg affairs and make recommendations to enable the Government and Kenya as a
whole deal once and for all with the ghost that has become Goldenberg. I reiterate that the
Government will give you all the necessary support to ensure that you are not in any way
handicapped in the discharge of your duties.
The Government is also pleased with the interest shown by the public in your proceedings.
Indeed, the public has the right to know, which as has been recognised by the
Commonwealth Law Ministers, plays an important role in strengthening both democracy
and human rights. It is only in this way that Kenyans will learn from their mistakes so that
they do not repeat the mistakes in future.
It is now my pleasure to hand over and lay before you, duly signed by His Excellency the
President on 29th July, 2003 and in my presence the amendment of your terms of reference
specified in Gazette Notice No.1238 of 2003 which has been gazetted as Gazette Notice
No.5 I34 of 2003 contained in the special issue of Kenya Gazette dated 29th July, 2003
which I am handing over to you both the signed copy which was done in my presence and
the Gazette Notice emanating therefrom. The President, the appointing authority has the
powers to amend the terms of reference under Section 4(1) of the Commissions of Inquiry
Act.
(The Attorney-General (Mr. Wako) handed over the
Gazette Notice to the Commission)
I wish also with your pennission to take this opportunity to thank Mr. Dan Ameyo for the
able manner in which he has discharged his duties as a Joint Secretary. Mr. Ameyo has a
wealth of experience in the running of commissions and, indeed, this is the fourth
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