Cabinet Secretary for Agriculture Mwangi Kiunjuri, Agriculture Principal Secretary Hamadi Boga, NCPB MD Albin Sang and top Treasury officials are on the EACC radar and will face vigorous probe over fraud allegations that saw the Ministry of Agriculture lose Sh1.8 Billion in the irregular nonsupported expenditure budget.
Initially, Ruto owned Githeri Media Max Limited published on their githeri platform Peoples Daily, according to their own uncooked githeri sources and research, that Mombasa tycoon, Mohammed Jaffer was under the probe too because of his direct links to Commodity House Limited.
According to the githeri people daily, the Mombasa businessman received sh1.8 billion from SFRT via CBK on July 1, 2019, and transferred Sh1.6 billion on July 2, 2019, to Hydery Limited and converted the balance of Sh200 million into US dollars.
In a turn of events, the Media Max owned People Dialy has since eaten a humble pie and forced to publish an apology to Mr. Mohamed Jaffer, who as it turns out, is not linked nor has ever done a deal with the Commodity House Limited.
“In a story titled ‘Kiunjuri faces new probe in Sh1.8b payout’ appearing in the September 13, 2019 edition of People Daily, we reported that Mr. Mohamed Jaffer is the owner of a company called Commodity House, that is under investigation by the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission. We have since established that Mr. Jaffer is not a director of Commodity House and is not being investigated by EACC over any payment by the Agriculture ministry.” Reads Githeri People Daily media apology.
However, EACC sleuths have said that they have already grilled chief accounting officer at the State Department of Crop Development Joyce Mutugi and another implicated official Charles Minjire over the loss of sh1.8 billion from the State-owned Strategic Food Reserve Trust.
EACC has also summoned Agriculture CS Mwangi Kiunjuri, his PS Hamadi Boga, specific unnamed officials at the Treasury’s Integrated Financial Management Information System, who are said to be the ones who authorized the payment and the Central Bank officials who facilitated the quick clearance of funds to avail themselves at the Integrity House for further questioning.
Kenyan Bulletin has also been informed that Businessman Mohamed Jaffer who was initially alleged to be questioned over the issue alongside the said officials is not implicated hence won’t be and is not yet part of the ongoing maize fraud investigations that EACC CEO Twalib Mbarak stated that his commission had established that payment was made without a documented budget.
Kenyan Bulletin desk has also done an extensive search and unearthed the real persons and owners of Commodity House limited.
Masumali Gulamali Merali is the Managing director of CHL. Zafarali H Dato is a shareholder and; Naushadali Akberali Merali is a shareholder and director both share the same postal address.
The Commodity House CR12 September 2019
EACC detectives have on the other side unearthed that On 25th June this year, Commodity House Limited received Sh2 Billion from CBK’s Strategic Bank Reserve Account for the supply of maize to the National Cereals Produce Board (NCPB). However, three days later, on June 28th this year, CBK reversed the said amount without any explanation as to why, according to EACC.
From the initial investigations done by EACC, Commodity House Limited had already on June 28, 2019, received Sh1.8 billion from CBK for a pending bill of maize supply to NCPB. The money was paid to a bank in Mombasa.
In yet another twist of event, Strategic Food Reserve Trust Fund chair Noah Wekesa had complained to EACC detectives that his agency was not involved in any of the said transactions nor deals.
“Your disclosure of the payment of Sh1.8 billion from the Strategic Food Reserve Trust Fund Central Bank Account to Commodity House without the board’s approval was against the law,” Wekesa said in a letter dated July 9.
Noah Wekesa also stated that the settlement of additional debts would with no doubt financially cripple the reserve and destabilize the work plan of the Strategic Food Reserve Oversight Board.
The expose has since attracted huge criticism from members of the National Assembly with some urging the President to fire CS Kiunjuri and others demanding the resignation of the Corrupt and functionality dwarf CS Kiunjuri and Prof Boga who are busy looting and delaying farmers payments.
Joshua Kutuny the MP Cherangany, Silas Tiren MP Moiben, Caleb Amisi MP Saboti, David Pukose MP Endebess, Alfred Keter MP Nandi Hills and Marwa Maisori MP Kuria East have demanded a quick resignation of all the implicated cartels in this saga.
On his defense, embattled CS Kiunjuri stated that the ministry of Agriculture was only adhering to a Presidential directive that all bills be cleared within a month. On the question on the legality of the withdrawal of trust funds, he said that the PS Hamadi Boga is the one with those privileges hence he is the one supposed to shed the light to that since his ministry sought Treasury’s clearance.
