Power, Politics and Drugs play out in Parliament

By Martin Mutua
Internal Security Minister George Saitoti was at pains to defend a report he tabled in Parliament one month ago that sensationally linked four MPs and a businessman to trade in narcotics.
Yesterday, Saitoti tabled a police report in the House, which found no evidence linking the legislators and the businessman to the alleged drugs trade. The minister, however, drew the wrath of MPs when he said the report he tabled was ‘interim’ yet members who perused the report told the House that Police Commissioner Mathew Iteere’s comment in the document says its is a final report.
In a session lasting two hours, the four legislators named — Harun Mwau (Kilome), Hassan Ali Joho (Kisauni), Mike Mbuvi (Makadara) and William Kabogo (Juja) — were supported by many MPs in taking Saitoti to task over a report handed over to the Government by US Ambassador Michael Ranneberger before its tabling in Parliament.
The police investigations were prompted by the report and the fifth person named was Mombasa businessman Ali Punjani. And in a dramatic development, Juja MP Willam Kabogo returned home from Parliament to find his State-assigned security withdrawn.
Speaking to journalists at Parliament buildings, Kabogo said his attempt to see Internal Security PS Francis Kimemia over the matter failed.
He showed journalists the message from the policeman who had been guarding his residence who said he had been recalled to headquarters.
Not linked
During the dramatic debate in Parliament, the Juja MP had mentioned that the report from the US envoy also mentioned a woman it described the "President’s second wife". Kabogo was, however, forced to clarify that he was not introducing new names after Saitoti maintained the other individuals named in the US dossier, including the woman, were not linked to the drug dealings.
Some of the MPs said Saitoti had shielded some other individuals who were named in the report, when he revealed names in the House.
At the same time Ranneberger came under attack with Ndaragwa MP, Jeremiah Kioni, saying the document by Ranneberger was only full allegations.
Kioni said that, for instance, the document had stated that the Mr Punjani was an agent of Amiran, an Israeli company, but when they met the Israeli Ambassador and sought to know about the matter he was shocked.
"The ambassador said he was hearing the matter for the first time and that there was no Israeli company called Amiran, and that the company was a UK one," he added.
Amiran is said to have confirmed that they had never dealt with Punjani.
There was a heated exchange between the four MPs and Saitoti who was at pains to explain whether the report he had tabled was final or an interim assessment as they took him to task demanding answers which did not seem forthcoming.
Saitoti evoked the wrath of members when he claimed the report was an interim one and that the Kenya Anti-Corruption Commission (KACC) and the Kenya Revenue Authority were still undertaking investigations.
At one point during the exchanges, Mbuvi was thrown out of the House by Speaker Kenneth Marende after he declined to withdraw a statement that Saitoti should name the real drug barons, whom he said are sons and daughters of sitting cabinet ministers.
Kabogo accused Saitoti of playing games with their names, saying he had promised the House that he was going to issue a comprehensive statement on the matter and avail a final document and that his assertion that the report was interim should not be entertained.
Ocampo six
"This is the game the US ambassador has been playing with the minister so that the issue of the ‘Ocampo Six’ can be able to get deferral," he added
Kabogo said the minister must now be stopped on his tracks against calling them suspects because no such evidence had been adduced.
"Mr Speaker according to the report the Commissioner of Police states inside that the report is final but the covering letter by Saitoti which I think must have been inserted yesterday claims it is an interim report," he added. Mwau on his part said the allegations undermined the integrity of the House, and pleaded with the Speaker to come out in support of members of the Legislature when they are wrongly accused, as happens with the other two arms of government.
Mwau, who resigned from his position as an assistant minister after he was linked to the drug trafficking ‘dossier’, invited the Speaker to reflect upon a situation where his members, while traveling abroad, are subjected to embarrassing searches because of the alleged drug’s link, which he said had received international attention.
Searched with machines
"Mr Speaker can you imagine when your members are travelling with you abroad and there are two entrances in an airport, a red one and green one, but the Kenyan MPs are led to another area where they are searched in their body cavity with machines being inserted everywhere," he posed. Mwau noted that the media serialized the report, yet the Commissioner of Police, Saitoti and the PS had not come out to deny its veracity.
He noted that Saitoti having been "a victim of scandalous accusations in the past" ought to have known better.
Linked him
Joho noted that the report tabled by Saitoti had stated clearly that no witnesses linked him to drug trafficking and demanded an apology from the minister.
"Mr Speaker we have families and my 13 year-old daughter the other day was engaged in a fight with another girl after she told her that her father is a drug trafficker," he added.
Joho said the claims by Saitoti that he needed more time to raise the matters with KACC and KRA did not hold water.
Joho said KRA deals with collection of taxes and all what one need do is avail a pin number and the taxman will know whether someone pays taxes or not.
"Mr Speaker we have no business being Members of Parliament when we have been labeled drug traffickers and this is the reason why Saitoti must apologise," he added.
Marende then said he would study the issues raised to decide whether he has the jurisdiction to rule on the matter.