"I do not know who Anglo-Leasing Ltd is and I have never known its officers” Mr Moody Awori said in Parliament in 2006. Photo/FILE
By RICHARD MUNGUTI rmunguti@ke.nationmedia.com
Posted Thursday, August 18 2011 at 22:30
Posted Thursday, August 18 2011 at 22:30
Former Vice-President Moody Awori ordered his permanent secretary Sylvester Mwaliko to speed up Anglo Leasing contracts, a court heard on Thursday.
Former Principal Immigration Officer Henry ole Ndiema said Mr Awori directed Mr Mwaliko to forward the contentious contract to print passports to the Attorney-General.
“Did you talk to Mr Awori over the passport issue?” defence lawyer Jane Githinji asked Mr Ndiema.
“No,” he replied.
“And are you aware whether the former Vice-President and Minister for Home Affairs knew about the passport project?”
“I was corresponding with Mr Mwaliko. I was answerable to him,” Mr Ndiema answered.
Ms Githinji tabled a letter from Mr Awori to Mr Mwaliko directing him to submit the proposal by Anglo-Leasing to the Treasury for “technical advice and approve it if funds were available.”
Mr Awori also asked him to propose the interest rate for the project to be raised to 4.75 per cent from four per cent.
But when the scandal was exposed, Mr Awori disowned the project in a ministerial statement.
“I do not know who Anglo-Leasing Ltd is and I have never known its officers.”
Much later, he said “there was absolutely nothing wrong with the project.”
Mr Ndiema told Principal Magistrate Lucy Nyambura that British security printer De La Rue had earlier been awarded a tender to supply 700,000 passports at Sh140 million.
Mr Ndiema said six companies were invited to tender for the project.
“I put it to you that De La Rue was the apple of your eye. You had awarded it a Sh140 million tender to supply 700,000 passports. It is the same one which had supplied Kenya with the obsolete machines,” Ms Githinji said.
“Not true… If I had interests, I would have procured its services directly without inviting tenders,” he said
Mr Ndiema is the ninth witness in a case where Mr Mwaliko, former Treasury PS Joseph Magari and two others are facing abuse of office charges over the Sh91.6 million passports tender award to Anglo-Leasing and Finance Ltd.
Hearing resumes on August 26.
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