Wetang’ula faces fresh probe over embassy scam

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By BERNARD NAMUNANE bnamunane@ke.nationmedia.com
Posted  Sunday, May 27  2012 at  22:30

The anti-corruption commission has re-opened fresh investigations into the controversial purchase of land for the Kenyan embassy in Japan.

The investigations, based on evidence compiled by Japan on the purchase of land in Tokyo in which it is estimated Sh1.4 billion taxpayers' money was lost, could see top government officials questioned again.

Correspondence between Attorney-General Githu Muigai and EACC acting chief executive officer Jane Muthaura shows that the government is keen to quickly conclude the investigations.

Prof Muigai has written to Ms Muthaura to expedite the translation of a Japanese report into the questionable purchase of the land. (READ: How Kenya ministry lost billions in shady land deals)

“Kindly update this office (AG Chambers) with an update on the progress made with regard to the translation of the documents,” he said in a letter dated May 21.

On Sunday, the commission spokesman Nicholas Simani said they will analyse the evidence gathered by the Japanese Government to enrich their recommendations against those who were mentioned to be behind the scandal.

“The commission received the evidence in bulk which needed to be translated into English. This will then be analysed as evidence which we will piece together with what we have,” he said on the phone.

Contrary to the statement which was issued in parliament last year by Prime Minister Raila Odinga stating that Trade minister Moses Wetang’ula was cleared by the commission, Mr Simani said the investigations were still on.

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Before he left office, former anti-corruption boss PLO Lumumba said they were yet to include the foreign component in their investigations into the scandal.

“We completed the local component of the Tokyo affair a long time ago but our investigations would be incomplete without the Japanese bit,” he told a parliamentary committee.

That is how the Japan Government was roped in and Tokyo’s ambassador to Kenya Mr Toshihisa Takata handed over the dossier from Tokyo to the government in February.

On February 6, the correspondence between the AG’s office and Ms Muthaura shows, the dossier was handed over to the anti-corruption commission.

Evidence gathered

Says Prof Muigai in his letter dated February 6: “We are in receipt of a letter and documents from Mr Toshihisa Takata, ambassador of Japan to Kenya, forwarding documents and evidence gathered in Japan requested by the defunct Kenya Anti-Corruption Commission (KACC), I here by transmit the same for your further and necessary action.”

On February 13, Ms Muthaura wrote to the AG, acknowledging the receipt of the documents and said they had started to translate them into English before they could analyse the evidence.

Mr Simani could not say whether the translation of the evidence has been concluded. “I can only respond authoritatively tomorrow (Monday),” he said.