Navy story.indd - Mars Group Kenya Publications

politically sensitive cases. Justice
Minister Karua, who has disputed
the validity of the initial detective
work by former anti-corruption
czar John Githongo, will doubtless
claim vindication. So will Githongo,
who argued in an open letter on
19 September that neither Ringera
nor the Kibaki government has
Wako’s rejection of the KACC
probe seriously undermines
Ringera’s position
shown serious interest in pursuing
Anglo-Leasing and other corruption
scandals.
Karua accused Githongo of
refusing to sign a statement
summarising his analysis of the
brothers in armenia
Anglo-Leasing affair. Githongo
countered that he had given the
authorities a written account. He
had many problems with the KACC
summary of his evidence and had
prepared his own with the help of
his legal adviser, Makau Mutua.
Githongo further said that
Ringera, in two separate interviews
with the KACC in
London, had told him
that he [Githongo]
had made senior
officials suffer and
that the pursuit of the
Anglo-Leasing affair
would be postponed until after the
elections or perhaps indefinitely.
One conversation took place in
the presence of two KACC officials
and Mutua, another just between
Ringera, Mutua and himself,
The report of the Presidential Commission of Inquiry into the activities of
the so-called Armenian brothers – Artur Margaryan and Artur Sargasyan
– uncovers a pattern of fraud and corruption in the police, customs and
immigration services – and in Kenya’s political elite. Its most politically
explosive recommendation is for the prosecution for tax evasion and
corporate fraud of Winnie Wangui, the daughter of President Mwai
Kibaki and his second wife Mary Wambui.
The Presidential Commission report, a copy of which has been
obtained by Africa Confidential, also called for the dismissal of Winnie
Wangui from Kenya’s civil service. Wangui is listed as a director of
the Nairobi-registered Kensington Holdings, a company linked to the
business dealings of the Arturs. The 66-page report accuses the Arturs of
drug smuggling and money laundering. It recommends their immediate
arrest should they return to Kenya.
Yet Chairman of the Commission Shedrack Kiruki stops short
of attributing political responsibility for the government’s apparent
tolerance of the Arturs’ activities. The two were regarded as having
immunity from prosecution and were frequently seen in State House,
President Kibaki’s official residence, during their stay in Kenya.
The Commission also fails to explain why Minister of Internal Affairs
John Michuki decided to deport the Arturs after they had assaulted
police and customs officers at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport
instead of arresting them for breaking Kenyan law. Neither does it refer
to claims that the Arturs were involved in an illegal raid on The Standard
newspaper, in which staff were beaten up, files ransacked, and computer
equipment and copies of the newspaper destroyed.
The Commission says it believes that Sargasyan ‘was involved in
organised crime and drug trafficking and…was seeking an outlet for his
illegal business in Kenya,’ but fails to comment on or investigate further
the Arturs’ widely reported links with a series of cocaine shipments
routed through Mombasa (AC Vol 47 No 12). The main casualties of the
Commission report will be Winnie Wangui, her mother Mary Wambui
and indirectly President Kibaki, who has tried unsuccessfully to distance
himself from Ms. Wambui and her daughter. However, Wambui remains
one of Kibaki’s most important political cheerleaders in Nyeri. l
Githongo says.
Ringera denied making any such
statements, especially to Githongo
who is known to tape conversations
with officials. Ringera also rejects
accusations of foul play after it was
discovered that the tapes on which
Githongo had recorded his evidence
to the KACC in London were found
to be blank.
Karua released a list of 18
suspect contracts, prompting more
public criticism of Wako, who, as
the government’s chief legal advisor
since 1991, should have warned
officials more strongly about legally
questionable deals. The KACC says
it has interviewed Wako about
his role but has not published its
recommendations on his position.
Anti-corruption news stories
dominated the agenda from the start
of the week when, on 16 October, it
was revealed that the three Kenyans
who had accused Charterhouse Bank
of running a money laundering and
tax evasion operation costing the
Kenyan state some 18bn. Kenya
shillings (US$240 mn.), had been
granted asylum in the United
States.
The three – Peter Odhiambo, a
Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) auditor;
Titus Mwirigi, a CBK consultant;
and Lameck Ocholla Wagumba, an
information technology consultant
with Charterhouse Bank – were
interviewed in safe houses by officials
from the US Drug Enforcement
Agency. After their interviews last
month, the three Kenyans were
flown to South Africa via Tanzania
before flying to the USA.
us concerns We hear US
officials are greatly concerned about
allegations of money laundering
at Charterhouse Bank. Former
Managing Director of Charterhouse
Sanjay Shah vehemently denies
these claims, insisting that the bank
complied with Kenyan law and
that none of its officials engaged in
criminal activities.
Odhiambo and Mwirigi had
alerted the then Finance Minister
Mwiraria and then CBK Governor
Andrew Mullei to the Charterhouse
scandal in a detailed briefing in
2004. Mwiraria passed the dossier
to a team of investigators drawn
from the CBK Fraud Squad and
the KACC. The task force’s Henry
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