Kroll report on corruption in Kenya leaked
Friday, August 31st, 2007 at 2:36 PM
Kroll Associates is amongst the world’s leading private investigation agencies. They appeared on my radar when I read fascinating accounts of how the tracked down money stolen and hidden by the Nigerian dictator Sami Abacha, found former Philippines president Ferdinand Marcos secret fortune, they found the money stolen by Haitian dictator Jean-Claude “Baby Doc” Duvalier, they found Saddam Hussein’s secret bank accounts, they found Osama bin Laden’s secret bank accounts which are being used to fund the Al-Qaida network. In short, they know how to do what they do pretty well.
In December 2003 I wrote that by hiring Kroll Associates to trace the money looted by Moi and his cronies the Kibaki government was showing that it was taking the fight against corruption seriously. These noble anti-corruption efforts were lead from within the Kibaki team by a guy you might have heard about, John Githongo, who was at the time the Permanent Secretary for Governance and Ethics in the Office of the President.
In February 2005 John Githongo travelled to the UK to receive a report from Kroll. Shortly after receiving that report Githongo resigned his position as Permanent Secretary giving no reason and stayed in the UK stating concerns about fears for his safety if he returned back to Kenya. At the time I wrote that whatever Kroll told Githongo must have been explosive, explosive enough to make him resign. In February 2006 Githongo released his report, a copy of which you can download on Mentalacrobatics here.
Earlier today part of the Kroll report on corruption in Kenya was leaked to the whistler blowers’ site WikiLeaks.
Some of the information in the report focusing on Moi:
- Assets accumulated included multimillion pound properties in London, New York and South Africa, as well as a 10,000-hectare ranch in Australia and bank accounts containing hundreds of millions of pounds.
- Mr Moi’s sons - Philip and Gideon - were reported to be worth £384m and £550m respectively
- Moi’s associates colluded with Italian drug barons and printed counterfeit money
- Moi’s clique owned a bank in Belgium
- £4m was used to buy a home in Surrey and £2m to buy a flat in Knightsbridge.
The Kibaki government never acted on the report. The Kenyan government official spokesman, Alfred Mutaa, dismissed the report stating, “We did not find that the report was credible. It was based a lot on hearsay.” He said the leaking of the report was politically motivated and insisted Kenya was working with foreign governments to recover the stolen money. “Some of the money is in UK bank accounts. We have asked the British government to help us recover the funds, but so far they have refused.”
Well he would say that now wouldn’t he. Earlier this week Moi endorsed Kibaki for a second term in statehouse.
You can download the Kroll report from WikiLeaks. You can also download it from Mentalacrobatics here (PDF doc 3.8 MB)
Hat tip Mshairi!
(Disclaimer for the conspiracy theorists amongst us: This is my analysis of the situation. I do not have any inside information on why Githongo resigned and he has not shared his reasons with me.)
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Entry Filed under: Human Rights, Kenya, Politics
12 Comments Add your own
1. Serina | August 31st, 2007 at 11:58 pm
Just how did these two jamaaz earn millions of sterling pounds? wonder what their income tax records look like? Electing people to the big seat is more than election promises…we need action and we want it now!!! This laid back attitude…wacha tu…december is not that far away.
2. Global Voices Online &raq&hellip | September 1st, 2007 at 3:36 am
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3. Jacqueline Harakis | September 2nd, 2007 at 3:03 pm
That’s pretty explosive stuff there. Yaani corruption in Kenya is near impossible to counter right now, the current president is even being sucked into it all??! After paying Kroll to investigate? Sad state of affairs. Keep writing!
4. JKE | September 4th, 2007 at 2:19 am
Well, this at least explains why Moi’s face is printed all over the currency - as he owns half of the economy.
Isn’t Kenya the richest nation on the continent?
5. alexcia | September 4th, 2007 at 6:04 am
where is the Kenya Revenue Authority?
http://nationmedia.com/dailynation/nmgcontententry.asp?category_id=1&newsid=105832
Everyone else is afraid of touching this
6. edu | September 6th, 2007 at 1:52 pm
upuzi mtupu
7. roy | September 6th, 2007 at 1:54 pm
muna iba pesa ya wakenya halafu mna unga Mzae Obako mkono Upuzi hiyo mrudishe masa pe za wakenya wanaovumiloia kuwa wakenya na Obako toka
Bloody nugu wewe
8. links 06-08-07&hellip | September 6th, 2007 at 6:23 pm
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9. Magaidi | September 7th, 2007 at 5:16 pm
I have read many a report on corruption in Kenya, but none was as gut wrenching as this. And Moi’s endorsements of Kibaki earlier this week makes it even more sinister. For what purpose? Is Kibaki in cahoots with Moi to try to protect his “assets”. This is not even corruption any more, it is evil. Pure evil. If evil has a face, this is it. And to think that this report was issued in ‘04 and the Kibaki government just sat on it? Is there someone who can get us a copy of the Lands report, the Goldenberg scandal report? By doing nothing Kibaki is equally an enabler of this evil. It is true: “The hottest places in hell are reserved for those who in times of great moral crises maintain their neutrality”
10. BRE | September 10th, 2007 at 4:12 pm
It’s great that you (and Mshairi) picked up on this story as it has been all over the mainstream press online. That former Kenyan President Moi is a crook is no surprise BUT the Kroll Report sheds light on just how big a crook he is along with his thieving cronies.
That Moi endorsed the present Crook-in-Chief Kibaki should be like the “Kiss of Death” for the present leader of Kenya, especially if he refuses to acknowledge that these (alleged) financial crimes have been committed under the Moi regime.
I have two questions: 1. Is the Kenyan federal legal authorities (Attorney General’s Office) going to investigate and file charges against Moi and others in his regime based upon evidence gathered by Kroll Associates? 2. Have Kenyan federal authorities placed a travel ban on former President Moi and his associates in crime?
If he is allowed to leave the country facing these type of serious charges you may never get the people’s money back, especially if he loads up a private 747 Super Jumbo with the stolen loot and his family members and fliesoff to Dubai or some other country in Goodbye Y’all, UAE.
11. Mentalacrobatics » &hellip | October 4th, 2007 at 6:19 pm
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