I do not need an appointment to visit DP Ruto’s office, he’s my friend

Former Sports CS Rashid Echesa on Tuesday revealed that he does not need an appointment to visit DP William Ruto’s office.

Speaking during an interview with NTV, Echesa also stated that American investor Kozlowski Stanley, who raised alarm over the fraud attempts is his friend and often visited Kenya.

“Stan has been my friend for the last six years…my mother knows Stan. He has been coming here on a tourist visa.

“I have never known that Stan has been doing business around here,” he remarked.

On his alleged interactions with the DP, Echesa said that Ruto is his friend and he does not need an appointment to visit his office.

Echesa was charged with forgery in a case involving an alleged Sh39 billion fraudulent arms deal.

He was charged alongside Daniel Otieno Omondi, Clifford Okoth and Kennedy Mboya with 12 counts ranging from forgery, obtaining money by false pretence and impersonating senior government officials.

The charges also detailed how the four accused persons turned Ruto’s office into a crime scene through the falsification of documents.

The four denied the charges and were released on a cash bail of Sh1 million each. Senior Principal Magistrate Kennedy Cheruiyot set the hearing date for the case for March 3.

In one of the charges, the prosecution, which was led by State Counsel Jacinta Nyamosi, claimed that Echesa presented himself to Bruno and Mamdouh Mostafa Lofty as a personal assistant of the deputy president in a bid to convince the businessmen to enter into a gun supply agreement.

The court heard that the plan to defraud the foreign businessmen started in October last year with meetings held in Ruto's office and the exchange of fake documents allegedly signed by senior military officials to sanction the deal.

"Between October 2 and February 13, 2020, the accused attempted to obtain Sh39.5 billion from Mr Bruno by falsely pretending that he would be awarded a tender by the State Department of Defence to supply military equipment,” read part of the charge sheet.