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Who secretly wired out George Saitoti’s billions?

County_Nairobi
 The late George Saitoti and his wife Margaret Saitoti.Five years after his death, a cloud of secrecy surrounds his wealth and whereabouts of his campaign cash

What political alignments would be in place had former Vice President Prof George Saitoti been alive today? Would he be rooting for Jubilee or Nasa? Or could he be the incumbent that Uhuru and Raila would be battling to unseat?

We will never know. The Internal Security minister, a former vice president who declared his candidature for the 2013 presidential poll, died in a plane crash in June 2012. And five years later, family, friends and political confidants are asking questions regarding the whereabouts of huge war chest that he had marshalled for his campaign.

Five years after Saitoti’s death, a cloud of secrecy surrounds his wealth and the whereabouts of his campaign billions.

Investigations by The Nairobian reveal that Prof Saitoti had assembled a team that was drawing a campaign strategy behind the scenes, even as he steered the sensitive Internal Security docket.

Two US technocrats had flown to Kenya to link up with businessman Jimi Wanjigi, former Cabinet minister Maina Kamanda and Saitoti’s confidant, Peter ole Sapalan, to craft a winning formula for the 2013 elections.

Jimi, it is said, was in charge of mobilising resources, while Kamanda and Sapalan were to use their connections to marshal political support. It is also claimed that before Prof Saitoti met his death, Jimi had managed to mobilise huge amount of money running into billions for the presidential bid.

The whereabouts of these billions is the subject of quiet debate among Saitoti relatives and friends in business and political circles. Neither Jimi nor Kamanda were, however, willing to divulge any information regarding this cash when contacted by The Nairobian.

Jimi, a close Saitoti ally, declined to set the record straight about his involvement in the late politician’s campaign strategy while Kamanda never responded to our inquiries.

A family source, however, claimed that the campaign billions were wired into a foreign account days after Prof Saitoti’s death. The Nairobian was, however, unable to independently verify these claims.

“Some people have taken advantage of the differences to apportion themselves part of the wealth behind his widow’s back because she did not have full knowledge of all the property waziri owned,” said the source.

The only other people who would have shed light on Saitoti’s missing billions are his wife Margaret and brothers Johnson and Ronald Musengi, a commissioner at the National Police Service Commission. Margaret and Ronald maintained studious silence on the matter. Only Johnson and the professor’s long-time lawyer Fred Ngatia, opened up, but declined to discuss anything touching on Prof Saitoti, citing privacy.

“Please, that is a very private family, which I presented at the Commission of Inquiry and would therefore not wish to be the one discussing it. Let us leave it at that. Don’t take offence,” Ngatia told The Nairobian.

Johnson, on the other hand, was curt when asked about the campaign billions and whether the family was feuding over his late brother’s property.

“No! No! I don’t want to be drawn into that matter because you have no idea what you are enquiring about. Please do your research properly then come back, maybe we can talk then,” Johnson retorted.

Saitoti had business interests in real estate, farming, banking and hospitality, with his combined fortune estimated to run into billions of shillings. When he was alive, Saitoti’s family life rarely made it into public limelight.

But it is now emerging that some relatives could be fighting his widow, Margaret, from being the administrator of her late husband’s vast estate. The couple’s only child, Zachary Musengi, has taken a backseat, and is rarely in public limelight beyond his artistic pursuits.

Another family member, however, denied knowledge of rifts in the family.

“I don’t think there is a problem. Mama is fine and there is no property tussle. I would have known because we communicate and meet frequently,” said the relative, adding that Mrs Saitoti prefers privacy.

Mrs Saitoti, who is a board member at the National Oil Corporation of Kenya (NOCK), having been appointed by President Uhuru Kenyatta in April 2015, never responded to our calls and text messages.

An extremely cautious politician after an attempt was made on his life through poisoning, Prof Saitoti died on the Sunday of June 10, 2012 at around 9am, when the Police Air Wing Eurocopter AS350 registration 5Y-CDT they were travelling in crashed in Kibiku area of Ngong Forest.

He perished alongside his friend and assistant, Joshua Orwa Ojode, pilots Nancy Gituanja, Luke Oyugi and bodyguards Thomas Murimi and Joshua Tongei. The minister’s party was heading to Nyarongi Catholic Church in Ojode’s Ndhiwa Constituency.

Kamanda would later reveal that Saitoti was organising a week-long trip starting June 18 to London, where he was to open a PNU office and meet Kenyans living in the UK.

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