Tokyo deal: Wetang'ula visits KACC

By Cyrus Ombati

Former Foreign Affairs Minister Moses Wetang’ula was at the Kenya Anti-Corruption Commission (KACC) for the third time to clarify issues over the controversial purchase of diplomatic property in Tokyo.

Mr Wetang’ula Tuesday confirmed to The Standard he visited the commission on his own volition. "I went to see them as I have an interest in their investigation," he said.

Commission spokesman Nicholas Simani confirmed that the Sirisia MP was at the KACC offices for about 30 minutes in the morning.

"He came on his volition and it is important for the public to know we will be talking to persons under investigation from time to time to clarify issues that keep arising," said Simani.

Wetang’ula and his PS Thuita Mwangi stepped aside to pave way for investigation into the purchase of embassy property in Tokyo.

Land deal

Mwangi, former ambassador to Japan Dennis Awori, and former Deputy Director of Administration at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Anthony Muchiri have also been grilled by the agency over the Tokyo land deal.

Muchiri, who is now Kenya’s High Commissioner to Libya, has been recalled as investigation into the deal continue. The envoy was in office when the controversial deal led to loss of Sh1.1 billion, according to a parliamentary committee report.

In the report that was adopted in Parliament, Muchiri led a Kenyan team that visited Tokyo in January 2009 to inspect plots the Government wanted to buy.