It was fascinating to watch opponents of the Deputy President William Ruto go for the jugular, alleging complicity between the him and “military hardware” fraudsters purportedly led by former Cabinet Secretary Rashid Echesa. Their evidence: Echesa and his alleged victims had accessed Harambee House Annex and its boardrooms.
It is the ultimate mark of hypocrisy to move from that simple act to involvement by the deputy president. Anyone who has interacted with Kenya’s officialdom knows that it takes very little to access high offices. If you are a former CS and are known to be close to the DP, you only need to say you’ve spoken to him.
Not only would you be allowed into those offices without a formal appointment, you would gain access to the inner sanctum. People will fawn over you, serve you tea and the traditional nduma and boiled maize (whoever has the contract to supply these items must be a millionaire by now) until it is clear that you cannot access the person you came to see. So, if this is the only issue give the DP a break, this is normal lapse in security.
SEE ALSO :Former Sports CS Rashid Echesa arrested
What surprised me was that it took the DP’s communication team so long to explain this as an unfortunate slip-up, distance themselves from the protagonists and ask for investigations into how this could have happened, and promise to close any loopholes that could embarrass the DP. Framing the matter as pure politics, pointing fingers at others, minimising the “23 minutes” was unfortunate and unhelpful.
Fortunately, sober minds later prevailed and subsequent statements appear more well thought out. I am not saying that the DP or his officers are innocent and full investigation will ultimately reveal where the smoking guns are. Only that mere access to the Annex is not a smoking gun. Where we should be looking are other aspects of this saga that may point to the involvement of others beyond the suspects so far arraigned in court.
The place to start is the alleged visit of the protagonists to Poland. In these days of Google searches, anyone wishing to deal with Kenyans would have Googled Rashid Echessa and found out that while he was once a Cabinet Secretary, he was sacked by President Uhuru Kenyatta for nefarious activities, including allegations of corruption.
For More of This and Other Stories, Grab Your Copy of the Standard Newspaper.
In the murky but delicate world of military sales, especially to the Third World, no one would risk dealing with a disgraced official, unless they came as messengers of someone senior and still in office. If indeed the Polish arms dealers were willing to deal with Echesa, it must have been that he came armed with credentials of someone current and powerful. Only time will tell who that was.
The other aspect is the razzmatazz that is said to have accompanied the ”around and about” travels of the team, complete with outriders, chase cars and military clad gentlemen. A disgraced CS cannot access dot in this country. The day you are sacked is the day your phone is no longer picked by the bureaucracy, which you need for such exploits. The investigators need to focus their attention on who made the necessary calls for the team to get this flashiness.
SEE ALSO :Former Sports CS Echesa arrested
Finally, I would be surprised that our normally alert intelligence services never got wind of such goings on. At what point did they determine that offences were about to be committed; it surely was not Echesa going to the Annex! What else do they know? What is shocking is that in the middle of a vibrant war on sleaze, anyone would be brave enough to attempt fraud, especially knowing the attention fixed especially on the DP’s allies. I also worry that while we are all assuming that these were con jobs through fake tenders. What if there was a real intent to bring in military equipment to this country? The Njonjo Commission of Inquiry once disclosed such activities. We must have thorough investigations, there is too much at stake when the items in question are military gear; the only thing that has been missing in Kenya’s occasional strife and accompanying skirmishes.
– The writer is an Advocate of the High Court of Kenya
Do not miss out on the latest news. Join the Standard Digital Telegram channel HERE.
