Dingswayo
JF-Expert Member
- May 26, 2009
- 4,019
- 2,925
This was one of the most ruthless Kenyan during Moi's era. Dead men tell no tales..but here we go...
James Kanyotu was Intelligence chief for 27 years
By NATION Reporter
Mr James Kanyotu – the man who had all Kenya's secrets at his fingertips – was Director of Security Intelligence for 27 years, 14 of them under President Kenyatta and 13 under President Moi.
Major events in which the Special Branch was linked during his tenure included the assassinations of Pio Gama Pinto, Tom Mboya, J.M. Kariuki, and Robert Ouko. Others were the Kenyatta succession in 1978 and the 1982 Airforce coup attempt.
As Special Branch chief, Mr Kanyotu was called to testify before a Parliamentary Select Committee investigating the murder of Mr Kariuki, then Nyandarua MP, in 1975.
He is said to have been one of those who vehemently resisted pluralism and even impressed upon President Moi to crack down on its advocates.
Mr Kanyotu is said to be one of the wealthiest of Kenyans, with vast investments in hotels, farming, banking and manufacturing.
Some of his business associates were key political figures in the Moi administration. Mr Kanyotu founded Goldenberg International jointly with Mr Kamlesh Pattni.
It is not clear under what circumstances he left Special Branch but it is believed to be following the introduction of a multiparty democracy and the movement of several top Kanu leaders to what was then the opposition.
He was replaced as head of the Special Branch – known as the National Security Intelligence Service since 2000 – by Mr Samuel Kivuvani who in turn was replaced by Brig Wilson Boinet.
Mr Kanyotu now lives quietly in retirement, as a farmer near Limuru.
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The comments and the profiles..
Former Special Branch boss James Kanyotu has died. As I have said before, the death of a tyrant is bad news to the family and the coterie of friends, hangers-on and aficionados. It provides no relief for the tyrant's victims and serves as a final denial of justice.
James Kanyotu was an evil man. He ran an evil organization and presided over the death of thousands of Kenyans. Unlike many of his victims, Kanyotu died peacefully in one of the most luxurious hospitals in Kenya, which has President Kibaki on its patient list.
Kanyotu was involved in every political murder, disappearance and political harassment that ever took place in Kenya. He cut his teeth by facilitating the escape of Tom Mboya's murderer to Ethiopia and later settled him in Likoni Mombasa. In 1974, he assisted Ben Gethi and the head of Kenyatta's body guard to abduct and kill J.M. Kariuki. He then intimidated and killed some of the witnesses that saw J.M dragged from Hilton hotel.
He ensured that both murders remained unsolved.
James Kanyotu was not limited to high profile murders as the family of Stephen Mbaraka Karanja came to learn. When forced by Justice Schofield to exhume the executed prisoner and produce him or his body in court, Kanyotu teaming with Noah Arap Too arranged to exhume the body, and re-bury it in an unmarked grave filled with acid.
Kanyotu also died as one of the wealthiest men in Africa if not the earth. While the rest of the world focused on Kamlesh Pattni, the other Goldenberg director - James Kanyotu - quietly stashed away his share of the loot calculated at 50% of whatever Pattni ever made.
When Justice Miller took off his clothes and started screaming "Nyayo" in the high court parking as newsmen photographed him, it is Kanyotu who was relied on to retrieve all photos and intimidate editors in to not publishing the story. Whatever he told them worked, for 21 years, nothing has ever been published.
James Kanyotu was Intelligence chief for 27 years
By NATION Reporter
Mr James Kanyotu – the man who had all Kenya's secrets at his fingertips – was Director of Security Intelligence for 27 years, 14 of them under President Kenyatta and 13 under President Moi.
Major events in which the Special Branch was linked during his tenure included the assassinations of Pio Gama Pinto, Tom Mboya, J.M. Kariuki, and Robert Ouko. Others were the Kenyatta succession in 1978 and the 1982 Airforce coup attempt.
As Special Branch chief, Mr Kanyotu was called to testify before a Parliamentary Select Committee investigating the murder of Mr Kariuki, then Nyandarua MP, in 1975.
He is said to have been one of those who vehemently resisted pluralism and even impressed upon President Moi to crack down on its advocates.
Mr Kanyotu is said to be one of the wealthiest of Kenyans, with vast investments in hotels, farming, banking and manufacturing.
Some of his business associates were key political figures in the Moi administration. Mr Kanyotu founded Goldenberg International jointly with Mr Kamlesh Pattni.
It is not clear under what circumstances he left Special Branch but it is believed to be following the introduction of a multiparty democracy and the movement of several top Kanu leaders to what was then the opposition.
He was replaced as head of the Special Branch – known as the National Security Intelligence Service since 2000 – by Mr Samuel Kivuvani who in turn was replaced by Brig Wilson Boinet.
Mr Kanyotu now lives quietly in retirement, as a farmer near Limuru.
************
The comments and the profiles..
Former Special Branch boss James Kanyotu has died. As I have said before, the death of a tyrant is bad news to the family and the coterie of friends, hangers-on and aficionados. It provides no relief for the tyrant's victims and serves as a final denial of justice.
James Kanyotu was an evil man. He ran an evil organization and presided over the death of thousands of Kenyans. Unlike many of his victims, Kanyotu died peacefully in one of the most luxurious hospitals in Kenya, which has President Kibaki on its patient list.
Kanyotu was involved in every political murder, disappearance and political harassment that ever took place in Kenya. He cut his teeth by facilitating the escape of Tom Mboya's murderer to Ethiopia and later settled him in Likoni Mombasa. In 1974, he assisted Ben Gethi and the head of Kenyatta's body guard to abduct and kill J.M. Kariuki. He then intimidated and killed some of the witnesses that saw J.M dragged from Hilton hotel.
He ensured that both murders remained unsolved.
James Kanyotu was not limited to high profile murders as the family of Stephen Mbaraka Karanja came to learn. When forced by Justice Schofield to exhume the executed prisoner and produce him or his body in court, Kanyotu teaming with Noah Arap Too arranged to exhume the body, and re-bury it in an unmarked grave filled with acid.
Kanyotu also died as one of the wealthiest men in Africa if not the earth. While the rest of the world focused on Kamlesh Pattni, the other Goldenberg director - James Kanyotu - quietly stashed away his share of the loot calculated at 50% of whatever Pattni ever made.
When Justice Miller took off his clothes and started screaming "Nyayo" in the high court parking as newsmen photographed him, it is Kanyotu who was relied on to retrieve all photos and intimidate editors in to not publishing the story. Whatever he told them worked, for 21 years, nothing has ever been published.
