Swirling accusations put Wetang'ula's integrity to question

Bungoma Senator Moses Wetang'ula. PHOTO | FILE | NATION MEDIA GROUP 

In Summary

• BBC investigative programme, Panorama, claimed BAT bought Moses Wetang'ula a return air ticket to London.
• BAT lobbyist Julie Adelle-Owino in July 2012 requested the purchase of a business class plane ticket to London for Mr Wetang’ula, then the trade minister.
• Ms Julie Adelle-Owino emphasised that the transaction should be “paperless” and there should be “no receipts if any in his name”.

By SUNDAY NATION TEAM
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The swirling accusations against Bungoma Senator Moses Wetang’ula epitomise his turnaround since he was first nominated by Kanu to Parliament after the 1992 General Election.

The one time boss of a charity that provides health and development services for pastoral communities in East Africa has been adversely mentioned in major scandals that have put his integrity to question. 

Mr Wetang’ula served in the board of the International Community for the Relief of Starvation and Suffering lnc (ICROSS) from 1989 to 2008 when former President Mwai Kibaki entrusted him with foreign policy implementation and repairing of the country’s international image after the 2007/2008 post-election violence as Foreign Affairs Minister.

In the string of corruption allegations that have encircled Mr Wetang’ula, the exposé by the BBC investigative programme, Panorama, claimed that the British American Tobacco (BAT) which has its East African operations base in Nairobi bought him a return air ticket to London.

According to the exposé, BAT lobbyist Julie Adelle-Owino in July 2012 requested the purchase of a business class plane ticket to London for Mr Wetang’ula, then the country’s Minister for Trade.

It is claimed in e-mails seen by the BBC that Mr Wetang’ula was to be “hosted at Globe House” - BAT’s London headquarters.

The lobbyist emphasised that the transaction should be “paperless” and there should be “no receipts if any in his name”.

SUSPICIOUS TIMING

Mr Vincent Kimosop, the CEO of the International Institute for Legislative Affairs, which is allied to Kenya Tobacco Control Alliance (KETCA), said the period around which the bribe is alleged to have been given coincided with global development of guidelines for World Health Organisation’s Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC).

Kenya had signed and ratified the FCTC in 2004 and the government was trying to get the regulations on implementation of the Tobacco Control Act 2007 that among others instituted strict measures for promotion of cigarette products and required manufacturers to shift from text to graphic warnings on cigarette packages.

“BAT were seeking to water down Kenya’s position on tobacco control for their commercial interests,” said Mr Kimosop.

Mr Wetang’ula on Wednesday at Parliament Buildings rejected the bribery accusations and said he would sue the BBC as well as the local media that published the story following the exposé.

“My trip to London was as follows: I was part of the Kenyan delegation that accompanied President Mwai Kibaki to the London Olympics which also coincided with an investment conference for Kenya at the time. Except for the officials from my ministry of Trade I did not travel with any other person, not even my personal assistant. I did travel in my official capacity as the minister for Trade in the Grand Coalition government and my travel and subsistence were paid for by the ministry of Trade. Records are available at the ministry,” Mr Wetang’ula said.

He added that while in London, several members of the Kenyan delegation stayed at the Holiday Inn Regent Park hotel.

“I was booked by the Kenya mission in London in a single room and I paid my bills and records are available for anyone to verify,” he added.

His statement was amplified by a Nairobi Lawyer, Mr John Onyango, who said the corruption allegations failed to create a nexus between Mr Wetang’ula and BAT.

QUESTIONS REMAIN

“One would have expected to see evidence that BAT procured a ticket for Mr Wetang’ula. Several questions remain answered on this matter, for instance, who bought the ticket, who issued the ticked, was the ticket used and who delivered the ticket,” asked Mr Onyango.

The lawyer said the report should have also captured the motivation by BAT in giving Mr Wetang’ula favours.

“What was Mr Wetang’ula supposed to deliver in exchange of the air ticket? What kind of legal and policy interventions was Mr Wetang’ula expected to influence and did he succeed or fail?” posed Mr Onyango.

But individuals in the tobacco control laws said that the ministry at the time was the stumbling block to getting the anti-smoking laws, including even issuing threats.

The exposé by the BBC, however, becomes the latest among accusations that the Cord co-principal is grappling with.

The Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) is currently seized of the Supreme Court judgement that found Mr Wetang’ula guilty of voter bribery during the 2013 General Election.

The judgement would require the IEBC to remove his name from the register of voters, a situation that would lock him out of the 2017 General Election and scupper his presidential ambitions on the Cord ticket.

Senate Speaker Ekwe Ethuro in October published the judgment in the Kenya Gazette, paving the way for the commission to “consider the report and delete from the register of voters” Mr Wetang’ula, according to the Elections Act.

The senator has denied the allegations and accused the Jubilee government of using the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) to frustrate him politically.

In October 27, 2010, Mr Wetang’ula, then Foreign Affairs minister, was suspended from the Cabinet to pave the way for investigation on his alleged involvement in the Kenyan Tokyo embassy scandal.

NOT CHARGED

It was alleged that instead of accepting free property from the government of Japan for the embassy, Sh1.6 billion was withheld from the sale of Kenyan property in Nigeria and used to buy a less suitable property.

Though he was not charged, the case is still in court after the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) brought charges against his then Permanent Secretary Thuita Mwangi.

Mr Wetang’ula made a comeback to the Cabinet in August 2011 and shortly after was deployed to the ministry of Trade that was the focus of the BBC programme.

Even though he was not charged with the Tokyo Embassy scandal, his political opponents have often used it to question his integrity and moral authority in questioning the corruption allegations in the Jubilee administration.

Never far from corruption allegations, in March 2012, it was alleged that a company associated with him, Turkana Drilling, sold Block 10BB where oil was being explored for $10 million (Sh840 million at then exchange rates) to Africa Oil of Canada.

He denied the allegations but admitted that his former law firm was involved in the transaction in which block 10BB was sold for a fortune.

The Cord co-principal was first nominated to Parliament by then ruling party Kanu in 1992 after the first multiparty elections.

He later successfully contested the Sirisia parliamentary seat, representing the constituency until 2013 when he won the senate seat. 

The University of Nairobi law graduate has also held several other public positions that include that of a magistrate and the chairman of the Electricity Regulatory Board, the precursor of the Energy Regulatory Commission following the operationalisation of the Energy Act, 2006.