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Charity Ngilu names President Kenyatta in anti-graft investigation
By Cyrus Ombati
Updated Wednesday, April 8th 2015
NAIROBI: In normal days, suspended Lands Cabinet Secretary Charity Ngilu would either have been sitting through long meetings in her office boardroom, or shuttling to State House either for Cabinet meetings or to brief the President on "hot" land issues on her docket.
She would even probably have been in a five-star hotel for this or that "important" conference, or would be high in the skies flying to another of those foreign excursions people of her status get invited for, as people of her stature like to call it, to represent one's country and even president.
That was not the exactly the "busy" day "Mama Rainbow", as she is known to her close associates, had Tuesday. For eight straight hours, cutting through her lunch time, Ngilu was at Integrity Centre, Nairobi, fielding questions from investigators keen to know more about the damning corruption claims against her by the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission.
Forced to step aside over claims she dismissed as fabricated and designed to bring down the pillars of the Jubilee government, Tuesday Ngilu arrived with a big bundle of documents, clearly exhibiting the will to fight and reclaim her honour and credibility.
After all Ngilu is not just a CS but a former presidential candidate, and there is no ruling out that she might run again, and you can't command that respect and garner support if you are a certified thief.
Ngilu had promised to put up a fight for her name so that on being cleared she would be readmitted to the Cabinet, but as it turned out, the process was very long – taking up eight precious hours of Ngilu's day.
See also: Ngilu appears before EACC over State House, Karen land graft allegations
But when she emerged from Integrity Centre, she declared it was President Uhuru Kenyatta who had sanctioned two of the matters for which she was under investigation. "The questions they have been asking me are not real to me."
Where did the issue of overpricing of the Waitiki land come from when those who were involved are known?" Ngilu asked referring to claims she had backed overpricing of private land the Government wants to buy in Likoni, motivated by a promised Sh65 million kick-back.
She was grilled from 9.20am to 5.55pm over the planned sale of the 930-acre land belonging to Evanson Waitiki in Likoni, Mombasa. She also faced questions on claims top Government officials were involved in the Karen land grab and the alleged irregular seizure of land along State House Crescent Road.
"I can't say much on the issue of the Karen land saga because issues of land are serious for now. You have seen people killing each other because of the land matters and what I have may not please many," she said.
On the Waitiki land, Ngilu argued the owner had demanded Sh9.3 billion for his land, translating to a cost of Sh10 million per acre.
But Government valuers put the price at Sh2.64 billion and when Waitiki stood firm on his demands a meeting was hosted between the seller, the President, Ngilu, Treasury CS Henry Rotich, Head of Civil Service Joseph Kinyua among others whereby an offer of Sh1.1 billion was given.
"The President himself told Waitiki to take Sh1.1 billion for the land. I don't understand where the figure of Sh110 million comes in," she said.
On the State House Road land, the CS said it was President Kenyatta who on January 22 ordered that the land be reverted to the Government and be allocated to the Foreign Affairs ministry. "I was not alone. I was with the Director General of National Youth Service Nelson Githinji and Chairman of National Land Commission Muhamad Swazuri among other officials when the wall was brought down. They can attest to that," she said.
She said many people have titles for the land that she termed fake and that the land was given to the defunct City Council of Nairobi in 1965 for a children's playground.
Ngilu arrived at the commission accompanied by her lawyer Njoroge Nani Mungai.
They kept her in the waiting room for a long time as they consulted given the names she is said to have dropped in the Sh8 billion Karen land saga.
The commission said it would peruse her statements and documents before they refer her file to the Director of Public Prosecution for action.
See also: Ngilu appears before EACC over State House, Karen land graft allegations
Tuesday, Waitiki claimed he had met Ngilu "briefly" in her office on March 30 after the President had submitted the graft list to Parliament. It was also on the eve of the day the report was made public.
The Standard could not, however, independently confirm this meeting. Waitiki claimed that during the meeting Ngilu had wanted to know if there was any outstanding loan on the farm.
"She (Ngilu) inquired if I had cleared the Sh1.2 million loan I had acquired from the Agricultural Finance Corporation (AFC) in the mid 1970s which I told her that I completed paying in 1999. She then told me to go and get official documents from AFC showing that indeed I had cleared the loan," said Waitiki who claimed the meeting took place in Ngilu's official reception.
Waitiki also alleged he met Ngilu in 2013 during which time the CS floated a Sh2.6 billion offer for the farm. He told The Standard he refused the offer because he considered the amount too little for the farm.
"If the farm was to be valued, I'm sure it would fetch four times that price. One does not even have to be a property valuer to do an estimate of land bordering a beach front," said Waitiki. "But let it be known that I will not be intimidated to surrender a farm I bought using my hard earned cash."
But Waitiki dismissed EACC's claim of collusion with Ngilu to inflate the farm's price by Sh110 million. "How can we collude to inflate the price of the farm before agreeing on the price?" he asked.
He said he is ready to face the EACC for grilling over the allegations.
Kenya – Ngilu invokes Kenyatta's name in anti-graft investigation | Africa - News and Analysis
By Cyrus Ombati
Updated Wednesday, April 8th 2015
NAIROBI: In normal days, suspended Lands Cabinet Secretary Charity Ngilu would either have been sitting through long meetings in her office boardroom, or shuttling to State House either for Cabinet meetings or to brief the President on "hot" land issues on her docket.
She would even probably have been in a five-star hotel for this or that "important" conference, or would be high in the skies flying to another of those foreign excursions people of her status get invited for, as people of her stature like to call it, to represent one's country and even president.
That was not the exactly the "busy" day "Mama Rainbow", as she is known to her close associates, had Tuesday. For eight straight hours, cutting through her lunch time, Ngilu was at Integrity Centre, Nairobi, fielding questions from investigators keen to know more about the damning corruption claims against her by the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission.
Forced to step aside over claims she dismissed as fabricated and designed to bring down the pillars of the Jubilee government, Tuesday Ngilu arrived with a big bundle of documents, clearly exhibiting the will to fight and reclaim her honour and credibility.
After all Ngilu is not just a CS but a former presidential candidate, and there is no ruling out that she might run again, and you can't command that respect and garner support if you are a certified thief.
Ngilu had promised to put up a fight for her name so that on being cleared she would be readmitted to the Cabinet, but as it turned out, the process was very long – taking up eight precious hours of Ngilu's day.
See also: Ngilu appears before EACC over State House, Karen land graft allegations
But when she emerged from Integrity Centre, she declared it was President Uhuru Kenyatta who had sanctioned two of the matters for which she was under investigation. "The questions they have been asking me are not real to me."
Where did the issue of overpricing of the Waitiki land come from when those who were involved are known?" Ngilu asked referring to claims she had backed overpricing of private land the Government wants to buy in Likoni, motivated by a promised Sh65 million kick-back.
She was grilled from 9.20am to 5.55pm over the planned sale of the 930-acre land belonging to Evanson Waitiki in Likoni, Mombasa. She also faced questions on claims top Government officials were involved in the Karen land grab and the alleged irregular seizure of land along State House Crescent Road.
"I can't say much on the issue of the Karen land saga because issues of land are serious for now. You have seen people killing each other because of the land matters and what I have may not please many," she said.
On the Waitiki land, Ngilu argued the owner had demanded Sh9.3 billion for his land, translating to a cost of Sh10 million per acre.
But Government valuers put the price at Sh2.64 billion and when Waitiki stood firm on his demands a meeting was hosted between the seller, the President, Ngilu, Treasury CS Henry Rotich, Head of Civil Service Joseph Kinyua among others whereby an offer of Sh1.1 billion was given.
"The President himself told Waitiki to take Sh1.1 billion for the land. I don't understand where the figure of Sh110 million comes in," she said.
On the State House Road land, the CS said it was President Kenyatta who on January 22 ordered that the land be reverted to the Government and be allocated to the Foreign Affairs ministry. "I was not alone. I was with the Director General of National Youth Service Nelson Githinji and Chairman of National Land Commission Muhamad Swazuri among other officials when the wall was brought down. They can attest to that," she said.
She said many people have titles for the land that she termed fake and that the land was given to the defunct City Council of Nairobi in 1965 for a children's playground.
Ngilu arrived at the commission accompanied by her lawyer Njoroge Nani Mungai.
They kept her in the waiting room for a long time as they consulted given the names she is said to have dropped in the Sh8 billion Karen land saga.
The commission said it would peruse her statements and documents before they refer her file to the Director of Public Prosecution for action.
See also: Ngilu appears before EACC over State House, Karen land graft allegations
Tuesday, Waitiki claimed he had met Ngilu "briefly" in her office on March 30 after the President had submitted the graft list to Parliament. It was also on the eve of the day the report was made public.
The Standard could not, however, independently confirm this meeting. Waitiki claimed that during the meeting Ngilu had wanted to know if there was any outstanding loan on the farm.
"She (Ngilu) inquired if I had cleared the Sh1.2 million loan I had acquired from the Agricultural Finance Corporation (AFC) in the mid 1970s which I told her that I completed paying in 1999. She then told me to go and get official documents from AFC showing that indeed I had cleared the loan," said Waitiki who claimed the meeting took place in Ngilu's official reception.
Waitiki also alleged he met Ngilu in 2013 during which time the CS floated a Sh2.6 billion offer for the farm. He told The Standard he refused the offer because he considered the amount too little for the farm.
"If the farm was to be valued, I'm sure it would fetch four times that price. One does not even have to be a property valuer to do an estimate of land bordering a beach front," said Waitiki. "But let it be known that I will not be intimidated to surrender a farm I bought using my hard earned cash."
But Waitiki dismissed EACC's claim of collusion with Ngilu to inflate the farm's price by Sh110 million. "How can we collude to inflate the price of the farm before agreeing on the price?" he asked.
He said he is ready to face the EACC for grilling over the allegations.
Kenya – Ngilu invokes Kenyatta's name in anti-graft investigation | Africa - News and Analysis
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