Kenya says China delivered empty container to MPs, wants Beijing to probe saga

The Government has said a container shipment that was supposed to contain electronics donated to Parliament by China was empty when it arrived in the country.

Consequently, the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) will not conduct a probe as had earlier been indicated. Instead, the State wants China to investigate the matter.

A multi-agency team yesterday resolved to let the Chinese embassy use its diplomatic channels to establish how the consignment disappeared back at home.

The meeting that was held in Parliament Buildings was attended by security chiefs led by Parliament’s Chief Sergeant at Arms, Kenya Revenue Authority, Kenya Ports Authority and the Central Police Divisional Criminal Investigation Officer.

The officers reviewed documents, including the bill of loading and scanned images of the container, which showed it was empty.

Staff of freight forwarding firm Bolloré Logistics and Chinese embassy officials were locked out of the meeting but later briefed.

The DCI also stated that no complaint had been received on the matter. The only police report is about detention of a truck and a follow-up on the matter.

National Assembly Speaker Justin Muturi confirmed he had been briefed on the matter. He said they were expecting electronics, which included cameras, laptops, computers and projectors but the lorry had arrived empty.

Mr Muturi said National Assembly Clerk Michael Sialai was handling the matter.

Diplomatic channels

“We have left it for the Chinese embassy to use their diplomatic channels to address the matter,” Mr Sialai told The Standard.

He said Chinese embassy officials had visited Parliament yesterday to be briefed on the matter and an agreement reached that they would follow up on what happened to the donation back in China.

“Indeed a container arrived at Parliament Square on July 30, 2019, whence I appointed some officers from the National Assembly to confirm the delivery as per the correspondence from the consignee (Chinese embassy).

“Upon opening of the seals, the container was confirmed to have been empty. Both the agent and our officers brought this matter to my attention and I made a decision that the DCI officers attached to the Parliament Road Police Station be informed of this development, which was done promptly.”

Officials said the missing goods, which included 46 laptops, five projectors and four cameras, had been donated by the National People’s Congress of China.

Police said the container was scanned on arrival at the inland container depot in Embakasi and it looked empty. The clearing agents then got in touch with embassy officials as well as their counterparts in China to confirm the veracity of the bill of lading.

The agents were told to continue with the delivery because the consignment was adjudged to be so small that it might not have been picked up by the scanners.

In a statement, the Chinese Embassy in Nairobi said it believes the matter will be resolved and the equipment recovered.

“Over the years, the Chinese side has made friendly donations to our Kenyan brothers and sisters, including medical equipment, office equipment and food aid, and they have all been delivered safe and sound.

“Among them were office equipment donated and delivered to Parliament in 2018. Therefore, this is the first time such a thing has ever happened,” read the statement.