ALLEGED MERCENARY DENIES CLAIMS BY KENYAN LEGISLATOR

NTV, Nairobi
13 Mar 06

[Presenter] One of the alleged Armenian soldiers for hire made a
scathing attack on Langata MP Raila Odinga this morning during a
press conference he held at the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport.

Ata Rusaksian [phonetic] who flew into the country from Dubai termed
the mercenaries allegations by Raila as false and demanded repayment
of an alleged debt amounting to 1.5m US dollars which he claims he
advanced to the Langata legislator.

[Reporter] Ata Sagaian [phonetic] says he is a businessman and has
never been soldier for hire as alleged by Langata MP Raila Odinga.

Ata who claimed to have vast business ventures in Dubai says he
arrived in the country this morning to counter Raila’s allegations.

But he also has allegations to level against the Langata legislator.

[Ata] Today what happening with me he [is] trying to close [the]
door to Kenya for me [so that] I don’t come [and] I don’t ask [for]
my own money. He try to make us state enemy, he [is] try[ing] to make
us enemy of Kenya.

[Reporter] He says his brother Ata Magaian [phonetic] also alleged
to be a mercenary is a businessman in Dubai and that they have never
been or engaged themselves in mercenary activities.

In a signed statement faxed to newsrooms Ata says the only other time
he and his brother have been in Kenya was last year when they came
to seek business investments in the hotel industry. It was then that
Ata claims they came face to face with Langata MP. [Passage omitted:
Ata speaking; words unclear]

[Reporter] Ata claims Raila Odinga and Kalonzo Musyoka approached them
to finance the ODM referendum campaigns at a sum of 3bn shillings. The
businessman also claims that Raila owes him 1.5m US dollars he advanced
to him as a loan and he has never paid it back.

The mercenaries theory emerged two days after a raid at the Standard
Group offices where Raila claims that in the midst of the hooded
police officers were foreign mercenaries.