Kenya opposition leader, MP opposed to deportation of “controversial”
Armenians

KTN TV, Nairobi
9 Jun 06

[Presenter] While the controversial Armenian pair, Artur Margaryan and
[Artur] Sargasyan await deportation back to their country, questions
are being asked about their activities in the country. Leader of the
official opposition, Uhuru Kenyatta, says that some senior government
officials have been having dealings with the brothers, while Kabete MP
Paul Muite is sceptical of the government’s motives in the latest
twist of the Armenian brothers’ saga.

[Reporter John Allan Namu] The soap opera that has been a sojourn of
Armenian brothers, Artur Margaryan and Artur Sargasyan began in early
March when the siblings stepped off a plane and into the Kenyan lime
light claiming they were businessmen. Their flamboyance quickly
aroused suspicion with LDP [opposition Liberal Democratic Party]
leader Raila Odinga being the first to raise the alarm setting off a
battery of counter-accusations between himself and like-minded
politicians on one side, and the pair on the other. [Passage omitted]
Their impending extradition back to Armenia is causing as many ripples
as their arrival into the country did. [Passage omitted]

[Kenyatta] They have entered into a security area with weapons. They
have taken goods out of customs by force without paying duty. They
have broken several Kenyan laws. We expect the government to prosecute
these individuals. The full force of the law must be applied to these
individuals. We do not want to hear of instances where they have been
told that they have been ferried out and they have been deported. No.

[Namu] While in Kenya, the Armenian brothers were linked to the early
March raid of the Standard Group with CCTV capturing a hooded
Caucasian seemingly directing the police commandos, an event that
caused public outrage. The government’s decision to deport the
brothers today, probably has a number of Kenyans at ease, but Kabete
MP Paul Muite thinks it is an elaborate ruse by the government:

[Muite] Clearly, the purpose of this stage-managed deportation is to
cover up those who ordered the raid and those who participated in the
raid. The [parliamentary justice and legal affairs] committee would
like to put on notice those who are stage-managing this deportation,
that they are committing the offence of obstructing the course of
justice.

[Namu] As the curtain falls on the Artur act, Kenyans would probably
look back on this interesting pair with questions lingering on just
whether there was more to this brothers than meets the eye. John Allan
Namu, KTN News.