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Confession can get Mwau off US drugs list
28 June 2011 07:10

NAIROBI, Kenya, Jun 28 - The United States government says Kilome MP Harun Mwau and a Kenyan woman designated as drug kingpins can only get their names struck off the list once they confess to their crimes and assure the world that they have quit dealing in narcotics, because there is overwhelming evidence linking them to the trade.

The US Treasury Department Director Adam Szubin said Mr Mwau and Naima Mohammed Nyakiniywa alias Mama Lela have the option of making the petitioning through a lawyer with confessions and undertakings that they will never deal in drugs again.

"Before the President of the USA designates any individual as a drug kingpin, there must be water tight evidence which is sought over a period of time. We don't operate on  rumours or hearsay… we have overwhelming evidence on Mwau and Mama Lela," Mr Szubin said, and urged the two to follow due legal process as outlined in the Kingpin Act to have their names struck off the list "only if they satisfy those conditions."

"They can petition to see the evidence we have against them.  This process is very active. But what I can assure them is that, they are not guaranteed at all to be told that their names were wrongly placed in the list, the process only gives them a chance to petition so as to see the evidence, confess that they have been dealing in drugs and give an undertaking that they will not in future deal in narcotics," he told Kenyan journalists via video conference from Washington on Tuesday.

Those confessions and petitions must be in a signed affidavit.

"I am not aware of any single case where an individual has gone through the US courts and judges have told him or her that the US President had acted wrongly or had relied on insufficient evidence to designate them. It has not happened at all," he said.

Mr Mwau who has served as Assistant Minister for Trade has vehemently denied ever dealing in drug trafficking and instead demanded to know the evidence that drove the US to designate him as one of the major drug trafficker in the world.

On Tuesday afternoon, the US Treasury department said it had overwhelming evidence on Mr Mwau and Mama Lela which, they said, had been gathered over a significant period of time.

The department said it has evidence linking Mr Mwau to the 2004 seizure of Sh6.4 billion Cocaine which, it says, was also found at a container depot which was at the time owned by the wealthy businessman.

"Other than the link to the large cocaine haul, Mr Mwau is actively involved in importing narcotics to Kenya and protects narcotics traffickers in the region," the US Treasury department official said adding that they have proved beyond reasonable doubt that the Kilome lawmaker was "an international longstanding figure in narcotics trafficking."

Regarding Mama Lela, the US Treasury department director alleged that she was the "head of one of the largest trafficking networks dealing in narcotics which operates outside Nairobi, to Europe, Asia and America."

He said that soon after President Obama designated her as a kingpin, Mama Lela was arrested in Tanzania under a warrant issued by Germany and she was found with five kilograms of Cocaine.

"Our evidence against Mama Lela and Mwau is very thorough but we have not shared it with them," he asserted.

The US Treasury department said it is actively monitoring Mr Mwau and Mama Lela's drug trafficking networks and will be exposing their associates and lieutenants soon.

The department also intends to reveal all companies linked to the two suspects whose assets in US jurisdiction have been frozen and all their financial dealings with companies or individuals restricted.

In this case, he said, any company where Mwau or Mama Lela have more than 50 percent shares will be affected by the freeze order.

The Kingpin Act prohibits those designated as such from transacting in the US jurisdiction and any of their businesses or properties there are frozen.

The Kenya government has insisted it does not have evidence linking Mwau to drug trafficking.

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