Artur saga returns to haunt governor in case

The ghosts of the controversial Artur brothers have returned to haunt Kirinyaga Governor Joseph Ndathi after a parliamentary report on the men and their local associates was presented in court.

The report was adopted as part of exhibits in the trial of former Foreign Affairs PS Thuita Mwangi, former ambassador to Libya Anthony Muchiri and former Charge d’Affaires Allan Mburu over allegations of fraud in procuring the Kenyan Embassy and Ambassador’s residence in Tokyo.

Artur Margaryan and Artur Sargayan were allegedly hired by the government to set up a unit inside the CID that would tackle organised crime. They were appointed to the rank of deputy police commissioners, used government vehicles and accessed police stations at will.

Mr Ndathi had denied during the hearing that he was transferred from the ministry of Immigration over the issuance of illegal working permits of the Artur brothers.

“It is not true that work permits were issued to them with my knowledge as the director of immigration. The permits can be issued within one hour so long as one has the necessary documents. That cannot be fast tracking,” said Ndathi.

CROSS EXAMINED

On Friday, Mr Ndathi, who chaired the committee that approved the purchase of the Kenyan Embassy in Tokyo, told the court that he was kept in the dark about crucial documents in the controversial purchase of the Kenyan embassy in Tokyo.

Mr Ndathi testified that he did not receive any correspondence between the ministry officials and staff at the Japan embassy despite being the chairman of the ministerial tender committee tasked with procuring the premise.

“The correspondences were never brought to my attention and by the time we finished our deliberations at the tender committee, the reports regarding the property were not available to us,” said Ndathi.

But Kioko Kilukumi, defence lawyer for Mr Mburu, accused the governor of lying to the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission that he was kept in the dark, to implicate the three former senior officials at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Mr Kilukumi produced in court documents showing that the ministerial tender committee chaired by Mr Ndathi, was presented with independent reports showing that the embassy and ambassador’s residence was legally sourced.

“Do you appreciate that you deliberately lied to the investigators and to this court that the documents were suppressed and that they were not presented before your committee?” asked Mr Kilukumi.

Mr Ndathi maintained that the statements and documents were never brought to his attention and that his statement before the anti-graft authority was not an oversight or a mistake.

Asked whether any of the three accused, Mr Mwangi, Mr Muchiri and Mr Mburu, influenced the committee’s decision, Mr Ndathi said that none of them interfered with their work.

“None of the accused had a role in preparing, suppressing or influencing the tender committee. All the reports were tabled before the committee and we adopted them after full deliberations,” he said.

Mr Ndathi added that as the person in charge of administration at the ministry, he had access to the file containing the embassy procurement and that he never raised any objection to the amount being paid to acquire the premise.

DIRECT PROCUREMENT

He confirmed that the Japanese government had offered a plot to the embassy, but it was too expensive and they resorted to direct procurement from land owners in Japan.

“I never raised anything in regard to purchase of the property; my only objection was the timeline. I chaired the budget committee that approved which agreed that the procurement was urgent after which we approved the payment,” said Ndathi.

The governor was being cross-examined during the hearing of a case in which Mr Thuita, Mr Muchiri and Mr Mburu are charged with fraud in procuring the Sh1.1 billion Kenya Embassy and Ambassador’s residence in Tokyo. Hearing continues on Tuesday.

Evidence adduced before the parliamentary committee on administration and National Security chaired by then Kabete MP Paul Muite showed that Artur brothers were close associates of Othaya MP Mary Wambui and her daughter Winnie Wangui Mwai.

What baffled the committee was the involvement of former President Kibaki; when he knew about the saga and what he did about it.

“The questions we must ask is what did he know, when did he get to know it and for what purpose did he appoint a commission of inquiry which only acted as a cover up,” said the report.

When the two Armenians were deported, Mr Ndathi was said to have prepared their deportation documents, took them to the minister for signing and faxed them to the airport to enable the deportation.