Nasa co-principal Kalonzo Musyoka has blamed Jubilee for the
freezing of his foundation’s bank accounts, saying it marked the
beginning of the party’s scheme to run a dirty campaign against members
of the opposition alliance.
Mr Musyoka, who is ODM
leader Raila Odinga’s running mate in the National Super Alliance
line-up, charged that the decision by the NGO Co-ordination Board to
accuse him of money laundering and threaten to deregister the Kalonzo
Musyoka Foundation was driven by the ruling party’s fear of defeat at
the hands of the alliance in the August elections.
“At
least they have started with me on something that is totally not there. I
am sure they will soon dig up things about my brothers Raila Odinga and
Musalia Mudavadi (designate premier cabinet secretary) because they
know we will send them home in the coming elections,” he said.
He
described as “victimisation and political persecution” the move by Mr
Fazul Mahamed, the board’s executive director, to accuse him of a crime
for which he could be fined Sh5 million and the foundation Sh25 million
if found guilty.
VENDETTA AGAINST HIM
The
Wiper leader said people close to President Uhuru Kenyatta were behind
his woes and specifically named Deputy President William Ruto, whom he
said had a vendetta against him.
“We know people who
are driven by vendetta and it is Number Two and his people. They are
lying to people that Kalonzo got money to help get Ukambani under
Jubilee but he did not, hoping to get votes,” he told journalists at the
Watermark, Karen, suggesting he was being targeted because he had
chosen to stick with Nasa.
But Mr Ruto, through his Communication Secretary David Mugonyi, dismissed the allegations.
“We
understand Kalonzo Musyoka’s political frustrations, but he should
leave the Deputy President out of it. The Deputy President is too busy
to waste time on such things. However, we know Musyoka’s statement is
meant to serve some political interest,” Mr Mugonyi said in a statement.
“He
should respond to specific questions irrespective of who is asking and
stop looking for scapegoats. Accountability is not a choice. Musyoka
owes it to Kenyans and his donors,” he added.
ACCOUNTS FROZEN
The
Kalonzo Musyoka Foundation had its accounts frozen by the NGO Board on
Tuesday over allegations that it could not account for Sh146 million,
and had received Sh50 million from China that could not be traced.
On
President Kenyatta, he remarked: “I am not exonerating him, but I would
be very surprised, if he had anything to do with this. If he would
besmirch a family.”
His son, Kennedy Musyoka, the
foundation’s secretary-general, was at the press conference — a man Mr
Musyoka said had been, together with the Nasa leader’s wife Pauline,
“deeply hurt by this”.
Asked why he thought the people
he had named had picked on him, he said: “They are coming for my
colleagues too. If this is what they can do, Raila and the rest should
wait. Theirs is coming.”
He questioned why the NGO
Board was raising accountability questions in his foundation, after it
had given it a clean bill of health on April 10, adding that he had not
been served with the Tuesday letter.
NOT SHAKEN
“What
is it that happened between April 10, when we were compliant and May 2,
when this letter I have not seen, that is all over the media, was
written?” he asked and suggested that it came only a week after he was
named Mr Odinga’s running mate to take on President Kenyatta and his
Deputy William Ruto in the coming General Election.
“But
we are not shaken. Our resolve will not falter, even with the threat of
being jailed for alleged money laundering,” he said, adding that the
foundation has so far supported 2,000 students in their studies and
flown many others to Cyprus for university education.
On
the Sh50 million from China that the board said was untraceable, Mr
Musyoka said the company, China Youth Development Foundation had issued a
dummy cheque but had provided all the materials for the building of
four schools.
“Mr Mohamed has no powers to freeze
accounts without a court order. I am waiting for the letter he has
littered all over. He should resign and avoid being used for political
reasons,” he said.
LET THEM PROVE IT
The foundation had only $3,000 (about Sh300,000) in its account.
“The Sh196 million being quoted is ridiculous. We have no such money. And if they have evidence, let them prove it. Better yet, let them come arrest me now,” he remarked.
“The Sh196 million being quoted is ridiculous. We have no such money. And if they have evidence, let them prove it. Better yet, let them come arrest me now,” he remarked.
In the April 10 letter, which
he showed journalists, Mr Mahamed had asked the foundation to provide a
list of accounts, their signatories and minutes approving the opening of
the foundation, bank statements between January 1 and February 28, and
funding agreements for projects between January 2010 and February 2017.
The letter also asked for submissions from his auditor, clarifying discrepancies in the accounts from December 2010-2015.
“We
therefore inform you that the Kalonzo Musyoka Foundation is now
compliant with the NGOs coordination Act, the attendant regulations and
terms and conditions of registration,” reads the conclusion of the
letter.
On Wednesday, Mr Musyoka described the move by
the NGO board as an attack on his family. “When you attack the family,
it doesn’t look good. It is hitting below the belt,” he added.
No comments:
Post a Comment