The seven fraud suspects who allegedly mimicked President Uhuru
Kenyatta's voice to defraud trader Ksh10 million. PHOTO | DENNIS ONSONGO
| NATION MEDIA GROUP
A Kenyan court charged seven men on Wednesday for impersonating
President Uhuru Kenyatta and swindling a prominent businessman out of
Ksh10 million ($100,000) in yet another high-profile corruption case.
The
suspects called tyre firm Sameer Africa boss Naushad Merali and his
finance director Akif Butt pretending to be the president and asking to
sell them land, court documents showed.
The seven --
Joseph Waswa, Duncan Muchai, Issack Wanyonyi, William Simiyu, David
Kikuyu, Gilbert Kirunja and Antony Wafula -- pleaded not guilty at a
Nairobi court and were released on bail before their case resumes on
March 11.
One of the suspected fraudsters impersonated
Mr Kenyatta’s voice, while the others arrived in fancy vehicles and
suits to collect the money, police said.
“Merali ....
gave a go-ahead to the finance director to process payment believing he
spoke to the head of state,” the documents read.
Mr Joseph Waswa, the man accused of imitating Mr Kenyatta, was known to use luxury cars, helicopters and bodyguards, local Star newspaper said.
Although the case was entertaining, it also showed how pervasive
corruption was in East Africa’s richest economy, lamented prominent
anti-graft campaigner John Githongo.
“It is so
completely normal to be shaken down ... that he didn’t even bother to
check up before sending the money,” he told Reuters. “For that to
happen, especially right now when we are ostensibly in the middle of an
anti-corruption campaign, shows that much of it is window dressing.”
Kenyatta’s
government has come in for repeated criticism over corruption scandals
in the health sectors, national youth service and construction
contracts.
Dozens of senior officials and business
people were charged in May with various crimes related to the theft of
nearly $100 million from the National Youth Service (NYS), a state
agency.
The Directorate of Criminal Investigations said
on Monday it was also investigating what it said was fraudulent
construction of two dams valued at Ksh63 billion ($630 million). Some
payments were already made out despite the dams not being built, it
said.
Neither Sameer Africa nor Kenyatta’s State House had any immediate comment on Wednesday’s court case.
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