As Kenyans grapple with the unfolding Sh39 billion fake guns’ saga, a look at past unveil 56 years of flirtations with mercenaries, their big guns and their outrageous lifestyles.
From the day the country took unsure baby steps after getting independence, some of its leaders and wheeler dealers have been mersmerised by mercenaries, and gun runners, at times transforming Kenya’s sea and airports into theatres of the absurd.
Evidently every decade and administration has had to deal with its own brand of mercenaries and gun dealers who have on a number of occasions threatened to knock out legitimate government.
Some Kenyan gun merchants with a silver tongue have jeopardized the country's standing in the international community, by sponsoring coups to bring down foreign governments.
We go back to the original scene of crime in 1964, barely a month after independence. The young nation was quickly weaned on a heavy dose of foreign mercenaries, big ‘obsolete’ guns, threats of a coup and secession.
Barely a month after shattering the colonial shackles in January 1964, some Lanet based Kenya Army troops staged a mutiny, to some extent validating intelligence reports that Jomo Kenyatta was about to be toppled by his Vice President, Jaramogi Oginga Odinga.
Ironically Kenyatta turned to colonial masters for military assistance to quell the looming coup, even as ordered a raid in his Vice President’s residence on April 8, 1968 where crates of grenades and machine guns were recovered.
A week later on April 14, 1965, the British promised to give two infantry battalions and aircraft to secure key installations. At the same time an elite squad of British’s SAS was deployed to protect Kenyatta.
It was around this time that a Russian ship Fizik Lebedev, which was full of military hardware among them tanks and mortars approached Mombasa, further worsening an already bad political situation, The arms had been solicited by Jaramogi.
Two days before the Russian freighter was sighted in Mombasa, a team of 17 KGB (Russian elite squad) touched down in Nairobi and moved into Panafric Hotel ready to train Kenyan soldiers how to use Russian Arms but Kenyatta rejected the offer describing the arms as obsolete, severing ties between Nairobi and Moscow.
Encyclopedia of African History Volumes 1-3 edited by Kevin Shillington reported that soon after the ministry of defence raided Jaramogi’s office at the ministry of Home Affairs where they unearthed some guns hidden in the basement.
At the same time, US’s first ambassador to Kenya, William Atwood later wrote in his book, The Reds and The Blacks: A personal Adventure: “On May 17, a convoy of 40 trucks loaded with Chinese weapons was intercepted by Kenyan police after they crashed through a roadblock at night while on transit through Kenya from Tanzania to Uganda.“
According to Attwood,” The convoy and its cargo were impounded and the Uganda drivers taken into custody. Kenyatta …. called it “an act of criminal folly” and refused to release the convoy or the drivers until Uganda’s president (Milton) Obote came to Nairobi to explain and apologise. “
Jomo and Jaramogi’s relations were irreparably damaged with the latter quitting government but the arms scandal would pale in comparison to the shock that awaited the nation, 5 years after the president's death.
This time, the source of arms was not Moscow but Britain which supplied heavy artillery while south Africa provided mercenaries whose brazen importation of illegal guns right under the nose of security agents would almost tear apart the country.
The architect of the gun drama now not a vice president but a former Attorney General Charles Njonjo who at the time he was busted was the minister of Constitutional Affairs.
In 1983, Njonjo’s was named as a traitor who had betrayed the president’s trust and had started amassing guns and mercenaries to topple President Daniel Arap Moi.
Consequently, a commission was appointed to probe his activities, a mission which was accomplished in 102 days after hearing 62 witnesses among them Njonjo himself.
The commission learnt how a raid in Njonjo's home had yielded 20 rifles, six revolvers, two shot guns and five boxes of ammunition containing 5,575 cartridges and two tins of air gun pellets.
The Commission wrote: “The evidence clearly established that there was accumulation of an inordinate quantity of firearms and ammunition together with installation of ground to air and ground transmitting and receiving radio equipment stored in two adjoining rooms of a private dwelling house,”
The presence of this cache of arms stored within the ‘lethal range of state House, Kenya Army headquarters and a police station was very worrying.
The commission which however admitted that it had relied on rumours and heresy concluded that the principal actors were members of the Haryanto family headed by an Indonesian, Yani Haryanto also locally known as Lim Poo Hin .He later changed his name to Haryanto who later moved out of Kenya in 1980. Others players were,Captain Boskovic, Njonjo’s driver, Chief Inspector Kabucho Wakori and the Chief Licensing Officer of the Central Firearms Bureau Senior Superintendent of Police Douglas Alan Walker.
Njonjo used this network of Haryanto to bring his guns through the airport where they would be received by his official driver while the chief licencing officer would tug along to issue permits and licences if the need arose. he had also roped in Andrew Muthemba his cousin to recruit fighters and look for arms.
Since several members of the Haryanto family were licensed to hold firearms in total they held more than one hundred. When 32 of them visited Kenya in 1980, they were met and accommodated in the V.I.P. lounge of the JKIA. Where their guns were cleared.
At one point some Americans, led by Kent Crane smuggled guns through JKIA disguised as fishing rods, camping equipment and foodstuff but when the baggage was inspected, by a customs officers they discovered rifles, two shot guns with telescopic sights about 5,000 rounds of ammunition. They maintained that this was Njonjo’s food.
Njonjo was also accused of having recruited mercenaries from South Africa whom he later used to try to topple the government of Seychelles in November, 1981, Moi was Chairman of the Organization of African Unity.
According to the Commissions findings, Njonjo issued thirty-eight visas between January 10, 1979 and August 23 , 1982. Among those who entered Kenya in this fashion were John Lockley, a member of the South African Police Force, and Lt. Col. F. A. J. Yan. Zijl, a member of the South African Armed Forces.
Although the Seychelles coup failed, there was evidence that it had been executed by an Irishman based South African Col. Hoare, variously known as Mad Mike. He escaped to South Africa.Seychelles later complained that Njonjo had already prepared a cabinet in exile which he was to impose had he succeeded.
Njonjo had earlier hosted billionaire gun dealer and play boy, Adan Kashoggi who is reputed to have met Jomo Kenyatta in 1976, as Kenya desperately sought arms to ward off Uganda's President Iddi Amin who was claiming part of Kenya while Siad Barre wanted to annex the whole on North Eastern Kenya to Somalia.
Later Kashoggi invested in Kenya and bought the 90,000 acre ranch, Olpejetta from where he would meet some of the world leaders as he peddled military ware.
He once hosted Israel's Prime Minister Ariel Sharon and Sudan's President at Olpejeta and when the Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat learnt of this he ordered that he be assassinated but the billionaire challenged him to come and kill him himself.
According to Gentleman Journal, the Saudi billionaire was involved in the Iran Contra Affair where the US secretly sold to Iran at a time when there was an arms embargo. Although Kashoggi later lost his ranch to Tiny Roland of Lonrho, Kenya's dalliance with gun dealers persisted.
Exit Kashoggi from Saudi Arabia, and enter two Armenian mercenary brothers who came into Kenya like a whirlwind in 2005, captured the police force, and compromised security at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport's VIP section.
To complete the picture of mercenaries and bad boys, the two Armenians brothers Artur Sagarsyan and Artur Margaryan who had come to Kenya as visitors obtained work permits and ultimately got prompted as Deputy Commissioners of Police who were protected day and night by police corporals.
The two men had deep connections in Mwai Kibaki's administration and were instrumental in the illegal raid of Standard Media Group in March 2, 2006 and stashed a cache of arms and communication gadgets in their Runda residence.
When angry Kenyans demanded answers, President Mwai Kibaki appointed former Commissioner of police to head a three-member commission whose findings were never made public.
Kenyans will never know why the Armenian mercenaries came to Kenya for a parliamentary Committee jointly chaired by Ramadhan Kajembe and Paul Muite could not establish the truth.
What is not in doubt is that the mercenaries were linked to the then Director of Criminal Investigations Department Joseph Kamau, Permanent Secretary, Stanley Murage who also doubled as Kibaki's adviser as well as Mary Wambui and her daughter Winnie Wangui Mwai.