Ruto allies link Uhuru kin to sugar trade row

Agriculture CS Mwangi Kiunjuri (right) and PS Richard Lesiyampe before the National Assembly Agriculture and Trade joint committees that are probing suspected importation of contraband sugar. [Boniface Okendo, Standard]

Deputy President William Ruto's allies yesterday dragged the Kenyatta family into the raging sugar scandal.

Aldai MP Cornelius Serem stirred a heated debate when he named a company associated with President Uhuru Kenyattta’s younger brother during the proceedings of a joint House committee investigating contraband sugar.

Mr Serem alleged there were plans to protect Muhoho Kenyatta from appearing before the committee as a witness.

The MP claimed Muhoho owned Protech Investment Limited, a firm listed in a report tabled before the committee.

Snubbed proceedings

He further claimed that Muhoho's involvement was the reason Interior Cabinet Secretary Fred Matiang’i had snubbed yesterday’s proceedings.

“After going through these documents we were given yesterday (Monday), I see why Matiang’i is not here. A company by the name Protech Investment Limited is owned by one of the strongest people in this country, and that could be why Matiang’i is not here because he is afraid,” charged Serem.

“This document originated from the Agriculture Ministry. Company number 112 in this list is owned by Muhoho Kenyatta,” Serem claimed.

Protech Investment Limited is listed as one of the registered importers alongside 369 others in a document tabled by Agriculture Cabinet Secretary Mwangi Kiunjuri before the joint committee of Agriculture and Trade.

But another page of the report detailing the importers and the quantities they delivered during the duty-free window opened by National Treasury did not list the firm.

According to the report, Muhoho and John Stuart Armitage are the directors of Protech Investment Limited.

Licensed importers

A source close to Muhoho yesterday explained that the company did not import any of the sugar that is under investigation and that it was mischievous to drag its name into the matter.

He said Protech only featured in a list of licensed importers of industrial sugar. This, he said, did not mean that the firm imported the questionable sugar that was seized from the market.

"The company is not part of these sugar imports. They are just importers of industrial sugar used for making yoghurt and other milk products at Brookside Dairy," said the source.

According to the source, it was wrong to link the company to the sugar that was being investigated because it had not imported any of it.

The development follows a line pursued by Kapseret MP Oscar Sudi, who has charged that the scope of the lifestyle audit of public servants ordered by the President should be extended to his family.

"We are with the President on this. We ask everyone to submit to the audit, including political leaders and their families. We will start with Mzee Jomo, then follow with him and the rest of us,” Mr Sudi recently said.

Elgeyo Marakwet Senator Kipchumba Murkomen has sensationally claimed that the lifestyle audit was targeting DP Ruto.  

Yesterday in Parliament, the committee co-chair Kanini Kega (Kieni) refuted claims that there were plans to shield some of the individuals mentioned in the sugar probe.

Mr Kega said all directors named in the importation – whether legal or illegal – would have to give evidence to the committee tomorrow.

Surpassed shortage

Appearing before the joint team on Monday, Mr Kiunjuri said after the floodgates were opened for three months last year, records indicated that more than 370 traders imported one million tonnes of sugar, which surpassed the shortage estimated at that time to be 700,000 tonnes.

National Treasury CS Henry Rotich differed with his counterpart on the quantity of sugar imported last year.

He told the legislators that according to data obtained from the Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA), only 920,571 tonnes were imported during the period. This was a 100,000-tonne difference from Kiunjuri's figures.