By Lucianne Limo

KENYA: Bungoma Senator Moses Wetangula should face criminal charges in relation to the controversial purchase of Sh1.1 billion Tokyo embassy.

Former Charge d’Affairs at Kenya Embassy in Tokyo Allan Mburu told the High Court that Wetangula, the former Foreign Affairs Minister, should be charged alongside government valuer Teresia Kimondiu.

Mburu told the Court that he and former Permanent Secretary Thuita Mwangi should not have been charged with abuse of office.

“There is no reasonable basis for our having been charged and if indeed there was such basis, then I believe Wetangula and Kimondiu ought to have been reasonably charged with offences,” he said in his affidavit.

He told trial judge David Majanja that he and Mwangi have been selectively prosecuted.

Mburu claimed that the Government valuer based the value of the embassy on two factors; the economic lifespan of the embassy premises and whether there were other embassies within the neighbourhood.

He added that Kimondiu misled the Government by stating that there were no other embassies within the neighbourhood yet there were 15 embassies in that area.

38 years

She also stated that the economic lifespan was 20 years for natural stone and 10 years wooden, yet Japanese tax laws state that lifespan of stone buildings is set at 38 years for living purposes and 41 years for office usage.

“Those factors were crucial in the determination of the value to be attached to the premises in question and the misstatement of facts by Kimondiu significantly affected the value she attached to the premises,” said Mburu.

He said the valuation report should not have been used as the basis for their prosecution. Mwangi and Mburu were arraigned in court on February 28.

The two did not answer the charges but instead applied for their plea taking to be deferred to March 14 to enable them get documents from state agencies that held inquiries into the Tokyo Embassy sale saga.

They are accused of abuse of office, conspiracy to commit fraud and willful failure to comply with procurement rules in the transaction.

They are jointly charged with the Kenyan ambassador to Libya Anthony Mwaniki Muchiri, who did not turn up in court. 

Mburu wants the court to compel the Anti-graft body, as a fair trial issue, to disclose the person or persons from whom they received allegations of irregularities in the purchase of the embassy property.

He was responding to allegations filed by the Investigating officer with the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission, Kipsang Sambai, that the transaction was a sham, done without regard to the law, procedure and value for money.

Sambai said the transaction was riddled with irregularities and blackmail. While responding to an affidavit sworn by Thuita, who is challenging his prosecution over the Tokyo scam, said the flawed process occurred under the watch of the former PS.