WETANGULA CORNERED

Foreign Affairs minister Moses Wetang’ula appears to have misled a parliamentary committee on the buying of a building that houses Kenya’s embassy in Japan.

Former Kenyan ambassador to Japan Dennis Awori said on Tuesday that Kenya lost Sh1 billion in the deal when he appeared before the committee on Defence and Foreign Relations.

Mr Awori added that he never chaired an evaluation meeting that turned down a “better” land offer from the Japanese government, as was earlier testified by the minister.

“I was not party to some of the things that happened, and I did not chair the evaluation committee meeting that chose the current plot over the Japanese government plot that had been offered to Kenya,” he said.

The committee heard that the Kenyan taxpayer lost the money when the ministry decided to buy the current premises measuring about 1,100 square metres.

This was after an evaluation team sent by the Kenya government rejected an offer of a 700-square-metre plot that had been identified by the envoy, with the assistance of the vice-chairperson of the Africa-Japan Parliamentary League, Senator Yano, who is known for his aggressiveness in pushing for African interests.

The committee, chaired by Wajir West MP Adan Keynan, was informed that Sen Yano had more than once assured President Kibaki that he would help as much as possible to have the Kenya government secure the best plot for its mission.

Over Sh1.5 billion was paid for the land on which stands a concrete chancery on a 698-square-metre and a wooden house of 402 square metres. However, Mr Awori said the premises should not have been bought for more than Sh500 million.

“The report is misleading as I did not attend the meeting, and I was not pleased with the decision to reject the Japan offer,” he said of the minister’s report submitted to the committee.

Committee members present at Tuesday’s meeting were MPs George Nyamweya, Eugene Wamalwa, Charles Kilonzo and Edick Anyanga.