OUTRAGE AS KARUA, ALI REASSURE ON ARMENIANS
By Maxwell Masava

Kenya Times, Kenya
June 11 2006

POLICE Commissioner Maj-Gen Hussein Ali yesterday spoke on the
controversial deportation of Armenian brothers and reassured Kenyans
that the fate of the duo was sealed.

He said a report into their stay and activities in the country will
be made public once investigations are complete but explained that
they would never be allowed back into the country either on transit
or as destination.

And Justice and Constitutional Affairs Minister Martha Karua asked
Kenyans to remain calm as the government investigate the activities
of the Armenians.

Ali’s remarks, two days after the deportation of the Artur’s alongside
their five accomplices came as leaders and several organizations,
including Supreme Council of Kenya Muslims (SUPKEM) the Anglican Church
of Kenya (ACK) and the African Independent Pentecostal Church of Africa
(AIPCA) continued to express outrage over the hurried expulsion and
demanded an explanation from government.

The police boss denied reports that the two brothers, Artur Sargasyan
and Artur Margaryan, had been temporarily expelled alongside five of
their accomplices to cover-up investigations into their activities
in the country.

And speaking in Nakuru, Karua said no stone would be left unturned
in establishing the true motives of the Armenians. And in another
development, a manager at one of the night spots where the Artur’s
loved hanging out denied reports that they had gone without paying
their bills at the club. The manager at Smokeys Restaurant within
Parklands, further refuted claims that a city businessman who was
also an agent of the brothers, Raju Sanghani, had stepped in to settle
the bills before the two and their accomplices were deported.

But speaking for the first time since the deportation of the Armenians,
Maj-Gen Ali said investigations on where they got everything they had,
including luxurious cars, assortment of firearm, military and police
uniforms and police identification cards, would be made public.

His remarks came as an assistant minister for Immigration and
Registration of Persons, Annania Mwaboza instructed the Kenya
Ports Authority management and the police to verify the contents
of a container belonging to the two brothers and currently said to
detained at a Mombasa port.

Although Mwaboza directed that the container passes through security
inspection procedures, an anonymous source at KPA inspection unit
denied yesterday that they were holding any container belonging to
the Armenian brothers. Mwaboza said passports and other permits found
in Artur’s possession were issued wrongly and said any information on
the two brothers ought to be published to dispel further speculations.

SUPKEM and Anglican church demanded a government statement over
the hurried deportation as AIPCA Archbishop Samson Gaitho said the
deportation revealed clearly that there was a cartel in government
playing underhand deals at the expense of the nation’s security.

A statement issued by the SUPKEM chairman, Professor Abdulghafur
El-Busaidy said the drama at the Jomo Kenyatta International airport
where the two brothers threatened to shoot Customs officials was of
serious magnitude than terrorism fears implanted into the minds of
Kenyan population.

Head of the Anglican church in the country, Archbishop Benjamin Nzimbi
said the security of the country must not be taken for granted and
called on the government to explain the security lapse at JKIA.

Speaking in Nakuru at the ACK Cathedral Parish of Good Shepherd,
Nzimbi said the government must always remain accountable to its people
and added that relevant ministries should respond to questions being
asked by Kenyans.

Mwaboza and Information assistant minister Koigi Wamwere expressed
dismay that the two had been deported without facing criminal
charges. They insisted that the two were not above the law.

Two Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) legislators urged President Mwai
Kibaki to sack ministers and top government officers implicated in
the Armenian saga to redeem the country’s image.

Kisumu Rural MP, Prof Anyang Nyongo and his Rangwe counterpart Philip
OKundi said the saga surrounding the Artur brothers has not only dented
the country’s image internationally but has exposed it to terrorism.

Muhoroni MP Ayiecho Olweny charged that the Artur’s were brought
into the country in order to eliminate perceived enemies of the
government. Without specifying who brought the two brothers, Olweny
claimed they were brought in to target Langata MP Raila Odinga and
other critics of the government from within.