Central Bank of Kenya has reportedly raided William Ruto’s bank accounts with a view of probing corruption and money laundering allegations.
The push by CBK was from powerful forces surrounding Uhuru Kenyatta who fear Ruto is using his money to buy MPs and may use the legislators to impeach Uhuru thus landing at State House during the remaining two years in power. With Ruto in power in the interim, it will be difficult to remove him come 2022 elections. Infact those behind the handshake claim, it was well crafted to tame Ruto’s influence in parliament as he controls majority of Jubilee MPs and has started earning support of opposition MPs in Coast, Kisiiland, Luhyaland and Rift Valley to his side.
Ruto has been making hefty contributions in fundsdrives across the country ahead of the 2022 general election. Apart from Ruto, his ally Mwangi Kiunjuri who was dropped as Agriculture cabinet secretary is under probe. Kiunjuri is positioning himself to be Ruto’s running mate.
Also being probed are bank accounts of Ruto’s wife, Rachel, eldest son, Nick Kipkurgat, personal assistant Farouk Kibet and Isaac Maiyo.
Rotich
Others on the CBK radar include a veterinary doctor, David Muge the funds raiser of Ruto presidential campaign kitty based at a secretariat in Upper Hill Nairobi. Muge was based in London. Mary Mungai, a business partner of Ruto has not been spared. A month ago, Mungai was summoned by the Kenya Revenue Authority over unpaid taxes. She was, however, able to settle the matter with the taxman. The deputy president and Mungai, a supplier at the troubled National Youth Service and Kenya Defence Forces are putting up a four-star hotel in Kiambu county. Already, the government has directed investigative agencies to comb through Ruto’s bank accounts and assets.
Paul Ndungu, he of Sportspesa fame and the man said to have brokered the political working relationship between Uhuru and Ruto in 2013 leading to Ruto being Uhuru deputy is under state radar.It is said
Keter
Ndungu later brought on board Jimmy Wanjigi and Energy CS Charles Keter to have Uhuru and Ruto fight on Jubilee ticket.Wanjigi was brought in after the death of George Saitoti who was his preferred candidate to succeed former president Mwai Kibaki.
According to sources, a move by the state to crack whip on Sportpesa was on grounds,Ndungu was to use proceeds from the gambling firm to fund Ruto presidential campaign come 2022. Sportpesa operations in the country have been grounded after the state handed a multimillions tax demands via Kenya Revenue Authority.
Weekly Citizen has established, CBK raid on Ruto accounts did not yield much as the accounts were found to be clean. It was thus suspected, the DP is hiding his money among friends locally and foreigners.
Now the state is out to unmask if Ruto is engaged in money laundering after his recent trip to Republic of The Sudan. Ruto was denied Kenya Air Force VIP aircraft to fly to Sudan and forced to charter a private jet from Phoenix Aviation, registration 5Y-WHB Cessna 560XL Citation Excel.
Ruto’s flight from Wilson Airport Nairobi made a stopover in Khartoum then headed to North-Eastern city of Atbara. Former president Omar Hassan al-Bashir used Atbara as his control base to rule Sudan.
In Sudan, Ruto was a visitor to al-Bashir business confidant Osama Daoud Abdellatif. Infact while in Sudan, Ruto used a luxury private Dassault Falcon 50 N633W, registered VP-CDG under Win Aviation owned by Abdellatif.
Bashir
Former president al-Bashir was sent to two years jail term after being convicted of money laundering and corruption.
Ruto’s deals in Sudan are networked byKenya’s ambassador Arown Suge. Suge is one of those who joined other passengers on the trip to Atbara. Weekly Citizen has information, the new ForeignAffairs CS Rachel Omamo is under instruction to move Suge from Sudan during a planned re-organisation of Kenya’s embassies abroad that will see pro-Ruto faces recalled. Talk is rife at Harambee Avenue-based Foreign Affairs ministry, Suge has refused to quit his Khartoum station despite his three-year term having elapsed.
Bashir is a key shareholder of Pan-Arabic Logistics, an international firm and Ska-Arabia Group with a one Mike Douglas in charge and said to be close to Muge. It has head offices in United Arab Emirates with satellite offices in Sudan, Iraq, Uganda Somalia and Sudan.
Abdellatif was a power to himself during al-Bashir era and run international business via Ska-Arabia Group. By then America had imposed economic sanctions on the Sudanese regime for human rights abuses in Darfur and for aiding terrorism.
Abdellatif has direct contacts Uganda strongmam Yoweri Museveni. Museveni and Ruto are close.
Back to CBK, it has emerged, the state move to unveil new notes was aimed at Ruto. Like the cat that never lands on its back, Ruto had by the deadline changed all the money and was all green with dollars and the alleged Sh50b in a container at his home that many said would become waste paper was empty.
It was suspected, a section in Jubilee were hiding illicit money to fund 2022 elections. Currently, it is said, the decision by state to fund BBI rallies across the county is aimed at countering the DP tours in Kenya. However, of late, Ruto fortunes are said to be dwindling after the state cut his sources of fortunes by targeting CEOs he placed in strategic parastatals many now facing criminal charges.To complicate matters, his man at National Treasury ex-CS Henry Rotich was haunted out.
Other sources say, Ruto’s network in state security system is being dismantled by the appointment of Fred Matiang’i and Karanja Kibicho to be in charge. The two are Ruto sworn enemies in Jubilee government.Fear has been, since Jubilee came to power, Ruto was running a parallel arm of government.
