By VITALIS KIMUTAI

Details are now emerging on how two former officials of Kanu cleared the party’s bank accounts of Sh6.5 million, nine days after being ousted from office.

As a result of the transaction, the party was left with a paltry Sh23,298 in its account, which it holds at Cooperative Bank of Kenya, Parliament Road branch.

The money was part of the Sh16.7 million that the party received from the Exchequer through the Political Parties Fund in the last financial year, according to national officials.

It comes almost a year after another suspect transaction saw the withdrawal of Sh8 million without the knowledge or authorisation by the key party organs.

Former National Treasurer Abdi Ali and former National Organising Secretary Justin Muturi are being accused of illegally giving instructions to a local bank to wire out the money to undisclosed account.

There are no minutes of a meeting from the relevant party organs authorising the transactions and its use. Ali and Muturi were removed from office alongside former National Chairman and Deputy Prime Minister Uhuru Kenyatta during a Special National Delegates Conference (NDC) held on April 14 at Kasarani in Nairobi.

The three officials did not attend the special NDC, neither have they taken part in NEC meetings. Lucy Ndung’u, Registrar of Political Parties, has also come under a barrage of accusations from the party for allegedly failing to act on instructions to have the bank signatories changed as per resolutions of the NDC.

Gideon Moi, the former Baringo Central MP who was until then the Vice Chairman was elevated to the position of acting chairman by the 1,450 delegates from across the 47 counties.

The transfer was effected despite a letter on the resolutions by the Special NDC to have transactions at the bank account frozen until the signatories were changed – which interestingly, the party claimed to have been rejected.

“I hand delivered the letter to the bank on Monday, April 16, since the Special NDC was held the previous Saturday, but it was rejected on the grounds it had to be sanctioned by the Registrar of Political Parties,” Secretary General Nick Salat told The Standard On Sunday.

Salat claimed to have gone to the Registrar’s office with the resolutions, but Ndung’u allegedly insisted that Muturi, despite his ouster, would remain a signatory to the account. “Ndung’u was actually surprised the Special NDC had not been challenged even after we issued notices for the meeting and published in the local dailies as required in law,” Salat claimed.

Salat claimed that instead of the registrar acting on the letter and resolutions, she asked for Dr Ali’s mobile phone number, which she was given and she allegedly called him. “Our intention was to put a temporary caveat on the account until the changes of signatories was effected. But it seems powerful forces were keen on having the money looted,” Salat claimed.

On May 11, a National Executive Council (NEC) meeting was informed of the missing funds and the bank was asked to explain the anomalies. Salat wrote to the bank on May 14, following the NEC resolutions, which elicited a reply the following day May 15, which cleared the air on the matter.

The letter reference CS/P.ROAD/GEN.IND/KANU/eoo, which was signed by Mr Eliud Ogutu, Senior Manager – Legal Company Secretary’s Department, was hand delivered to Salat on May 16 at 9.15am.

Ogutu lists the signatories to the account number 01120011317900, Parliament Road branch as – Nick Salat (mandatory signatory), Dr Abdullahi Ibrahim Ali (alternate mandatory signatory), while Uhuru Kenyatta, Naomi Shaban and Justin Muturi are ordinary signatories.

“We confirm we received valid instructions duly signed by Dr Ali and Muturi, which were effected as per their instructions on April 23, 2012,” the bank stated in its reply.

New twist
A new twist in the party has also emerged as they have been kicked out of the premises they have been operating from for the last seven years as its headquarters behind Yahya centre in Nairobi’s Kilimani area. The party relocated to Kilimani after being ejected from another premise in the area following a rent dispute.

“We are shopping for new premises as the lease relating to the premises, LRNO 1/412 at Chania Road legally expires at the end of this month,” Salat said yesterday.

Ms Ndungu’u yesterday admitted in an interview that Salat had been to her office on April 16, to inform her that resolutions had been made to change the signatories to the bank account. “As far as I am concerned, Ali and Muturi are signatories to the account. I can also confirm that we wired money to Kanu’s account, which should have been used for a Special National Delegates Conference as per request from the Secretary General,” Ndung’u said.

Reached for comment, Muturi admitted having signed for the money, which he says was wired to a legal firm.

He, however, did not disclose the services rendered by the firm. “My signature is not mandatory in the account. I only signed as an ordinary one as always is with such matters,” he said.

Muturi, however, said he was not the accounting officer in the party and was not privy to any other information. We could not reach Ali for a comment.