Sources say Kabila told Kibaki location of stolen gold, suspects

By CYRUS OMBATIDetails have emerged how the President of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Joseph Kabila, confronted his Kenyan counterpart with information that gold stolen from his country was being kept in a warehouse in the city.
Sources said President Kabila had the exact location on where the minerals were kept and the persons involved and demanded that police visit there to verify the reports.
His concern was that whenever the gold was stolen and sold through Kenya, what went back to DRC were weapons to destabilise his country.
After Kabila’s allegations, a team of detectives was hurriedly assembled and dispatched to the said site.
In the company of the local team was one of Kabila’s men to ensure the mission was accomplished.
But the detectives only found an empty warehouse in Embakasi.
Immediate actionDuring the meeting at Harambee House, Kabila is said to have demanded immediate action on the issue to which the Kenyan delegation promised after investigation was completed.
More drama unfolded on Friday before Kabila left the country when he demanded that the Kenyan authority hold a news conference to commit to pursue the issue to the end.
The demands, which came minutes after Kabila had held a second meeting with President Kibaki at his office, caused confusion with the local officials asking why he wanted the news conference yet there had been a dispatch from the Presidential Press Service (PPS) on the same the previous day.
Those in the entourage said Kabila did not trust the PPS dispatch and wanted a commitment from top Government officials.
His Minister for Regional and International Co-operation, Raymond Tshibanda, and the Mining Minister, Martin Kabwelulu, accompanied him.
"Kabila was furious and was convinced some people in the Government were involved in the racket. He had locations on where the said gold was allegedly kept and the individuals involved," said a top Government official who asked for anonymity.
And when Congolese officials were informed Government Spokesman Alfred Mutua would issue a statement on the same, they rejected that and demanded that Internal Security Minister George Saitoti, who is also the acting Foreign Affairs minister makes the announcement.
It is then Dr Mutua called the media for the news conference at the Office of the President contrary to normal practice.
Prof Saitoti later addressed the media at his office in the company of the DRC ministers before he hurriedly left to see off Kabila.
Arresting peopleKabila had arrived on Thursday to seek Kibaki’s assistance in arresting people said to have disappeared with 2.5 tonnes of gold valued at Sh8 billion. The gold was stolen from Eastern Congo last month, amid speculation it was smuggled to Nairobi.
Detectives believe the minerals were smuggled into the country before being shipped out to Dubai. There were also suspicions some of the gold found its way to South Africa and police intend to visit the country in the course of their investigation.
A preliminary report handed over to both presidents on Thursday revealed how smugglers are increasingly using Nairobi to illegally smuggle gold from the war-torn country.
Saitoti said the report prompted the two presidents to form a joint team to intensify the search for the multi-billion-shilling illegal consignment.
"They instructed police in both countries to share information on suspected persons as well as registered dealers in minerals in the two countries," Saitoti said on Sunday.
The Nairobi meeting came after weeks of fruitless search for the gold stolen in January.
The CID has been conducting the investigation together with the Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) and the Immigration Department.
KRA’s Senior Assistant Commissioner Joseph Cheptarus, who had been seconded to the investigation team, was shot dead a week ago as he entered his home in Nairobi’s South C Estate.