Pattni receives ‘a gift from God’

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Businessman Kamlesh Paul Pattni. Photo  Nation Media Group

By ISAAC ONGIRI iongiri@ke.nationmedia.com
Posted  Saturday, September 8  2012 at  19:53

IN SUMMARY

Mr Pattni, now a televangelist, is the architect of the Goldenberg scandal which led to the loss of billions of public funds.

The awards, organised by a West African organisation, The Excellence Awards Foundation (EAF) registered in Ghana, has selected Mr Pattni as the 2012 winner of the “Lifetime Africa Achievement Prize 2012” where he is to be honoured for outstanding “humanitarianism and equity in Africa”.

Ambassador Ashim Morton, who has signed Mr Pattni’s citation, says: “This exaltation of character, which is worthy of emulation, has made positive impact on the lives of your people today and will continue to influence them for a better future”.

Paul Kamlesh Pattni has been selected to receive a continental award to recognise his “achievements in humanitarianism”.

The awards, organised by a West African organisation, The Excellence Awards Foundation (EAF) registered in Ghana, has selected Mr Pattni as the 2012 winner of the “Lifetime Africa Achievement Prize 2012” where he is to be honoured for outstanding “humanitarianism and equity in Africa”.

This year’s awards ceremony, according to documents seen by the Sunday Nation, will be at a Kampala hotel on October 27.

Ambassador Ashim Morton, who has signed Mr Pattni’s citation, says: “This exaltation of character, which is worthy of emulation, has made positive impact on the lives of your people today and will continue to influence them for a better future”.

Mr Pattni, now a televangelist, is the architect of the Goldenberg scandal which led to the loss of billions of public funds. (READ: Fate of Pattni case lies with DPP)

The government recovered part of the money after the businessman agreed to surrender the then Grand Regency Hotel, which was later sold to the Libyan government for Sh2.9 billion.

An inquiry into the scandal to ascertain the role of 20 other former Kanu mandarins failed to trace the stolen cash even as the mystery surrounding Kenya’s largest scandal lives on.

After the Narc government took over from Kanu in 2003, Mr Pattni was arrested several times for different reasons, including the Goldenberg scandal.

It is unclear what criterion was used by EAF to select the winner of the award which has, in the past, also been bestowed on highly respected African personalities.

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But on Saturday, Mr Pattni defended his nomination as the award winner, arguing that it was honouring his outstanding work for the Kenyan people.

“About Goldenberg, I have left that behind me. You remember I surrendered the Grand Regency and several agreements were signed.

"That project was noble but greedy politicians spoiled it. Now I have humbled myself and dedicated my life to God and to serve Kenyans. I deserve the recognition,” he said.

He claimed that the honour was a “God given” recognition and confirmed that the organisers had contacted him to notify him of his nomination for the award.

On Saturday, the Sunday Nation’s attempts to reach the award organisers in Accra failed as they were not responding to phone calls and email inquiries.

Respected South African clergyman Desmond Tutu won the 2010 edition of the award on the Eradication of Disease in Africa category while famous Nigerian author Wole Soyinka clinched the honour in the African Cultural and Traditional Preservation category.

Other 2010 winners of the coveted award include South African businessman Cyril Ramaphosa (African Economic Development), British diplomat Lord Paul Boateng (Action for African).

American financier James Wolfensohn, Nigerian entrepreneur Amaechi Ndili and Somalian women’s rights activist Asha Hagi are also listed as previous winners.

Former Ghanaian Presidents Kwame Nkrumah and Jerry Rawlings and the late Libyan ruler Col Muammar Gaddafi have also been honoured by the EAF.

Immediate former Ghanian President, the late Prof John Atta-Mills, is a former patron of the event which lists reputable personalities such as Ms Samia Nkurumah, daughter of Ghana’s founding President, as members of the board of governors chaired by Prof Atkukwei Okai.