Uhuru asked US to cut aid over corruption

Artur Margaryan, one of the two Armenian brothers whose stay in Kenya in 2006 was the subject of controversy, displays an Armenian passport. Mr Kenyatta said the duo, who were accused of drug trafficking, were a “glaring example” of impunity by a powerful clique in government. Photo/FILE 

By  Emeka-mayaka Gekara gmayaka@ke.nationmedia.com
Posted Tuesday, March 8 2011 at 22:00

In Summary

• He claimed the Kibaki government was run by a few individuals who were accountable to no one

Deputy Prime Minister Uhuru Kenyatta asked the United States to cut aid to President Kibaki’s government for failure to stem impunity and corruption.

In a 2006 conversation with a US State Department official, Mr Kenyatta, then opposition leader, accused Washington and other key donors of giving the Kibaki Administration “too much leeway”.

“State House has no interest in pursuing constitutional reform, or in stemming grand-scale corruption which has plagued the country,” he told Assistant Secretary Jendayi Frazer.

Mr Kenyatta said cutting development aid to key programmes could be used to force the government to act.

“Kenyatta suggested that donor-funded programmes, the implementation of which the government relied on for survival, could be an effective pressure point,” reveals a diplomatic cable by then US ambassador William Bellamy.

The Kanu chairman said the Kibaki government was run by an “inner core of a few individuals accountable to no one.”

He cited the conduct and subsequent deportation of the notorious Artur Brothers, who were accused of drug trafficking, as a “glaring example” of impunity by the powerful clique at the sanctum of power.

Mr Kenyatta declared that the only solution was for Kenyans to vote in a new government.

But in a somewhat interesting turn of events, Mr Kenyatta supported President Kibaki’s 2007 re-election campaign and was appointed to preside over the Treasury.

However, Mr Bellamy’s successor, Mr Michael Ranneberger, accuses Mr Kenyatta of using the Budget to buy the sympathy of MPs over possible prosecution at the International Criminal Court and bolster support for a 2012 presidential contest.

By 2009, the US appears to have concluded that Mr Kenyatta and Eldoret North MP William Ruto would be named as suspects in connection with the post-election violence.

Mr Ranneberger says the danger of possible prosecution is one of Kenyatta’s “principal vulnerabilities”.

“The Budget which he recently submitted to Parliament has virtually bought many parliamentarians as a result of vast expansion of CDF funds. No budget presentation has ever been greeted with such enthusiasm by parliamentarians,” says the diplomat in a 2009 cable.

In 2006, Mr Kenyatta told Ms Frazer that contracts for donor-funded infrastructure projects were inflated for kickbacks. However, then Rongo MP Ochillo Ayacko, who attended the meeting, advised against the move.

“He (Ayacko), however, contended that much needed assistance should not be shut off, rather examined more carefully,” Mr Bellamy wrote.

Ms Frazer reportedly advised Mr Kenyatta and his colleagues in Parliament to step back from personality politics and focus debate on the serious issues affecting Kenya, such as proliferation of small arms and terrorism.

Mr Kenyatta also lamented about the “backsliding” of democracy and governance in Kenya. He accused President Kibaki of frustrating efforts to enact a new constitution.

The Kanu chairman is believed to be keen to succeed President Kibaki, but Mr Ranneberger seems to cast doubt on the idea of another Kikuyu presidency, projecting Mr Kenyatta as a man going against the grain.