Airport gun scandal hits Kenyan President
By Steve Bloomfield in Nairobi

Sunday Independent/UK
18 June 2006

An armed standoff at Kenya’s main airport has not only caused airlines
to consider whether it is safe to fly to Nairobi, but has led President
Mwai Kibaki to go on television to explain who is and who is not a
member of his family.

Artur Sargasyan and Artur Margaryan – flamboyant, gold-chain-wearing
Armenian businessmen known in Kenya as the Artur brothers – allegedly
brandished guns at Nairobi’s Jomo Kenyatta airport when their guests
were asked to open their luggage by customs officials. But instead
of being arrested, the pair were quietly deported to Dubai.

A subsequent raid at their Nairobi home reportedly uncovered a cache
of weapons, body armour and balaclavas, as well as government-issue
number plates, fake passports and access-all-areas passes for all
Kenya’s airports. Opposition politicians have alleged that the men
enjoyed state protection, and there are claims that President Kibaki
and his family are linked to the Armenians.

Only the security concerns prevent the affair resembling an
over-the-top daytime soap opera. The Armenian "brothers" are not
related, and may actually be Russian. One claims to be in love with
Winnie Wangui, the daughter of a woman who President Kibaki has
repeatedly been forced to deny is his second wife.

The controversial Armenians first came to prominence in Kenya in March
after an armed raid on the East African Standard newspaper, which
had been critical of the government. The Internal Security Minister,
John Michuki, made no attempt to deny the government was behind the
attack, saying: "If you rattle a snake, you must be prepared to be
bitten by it."

But it later emerged that Kenya’s most senior police officer had not
been informed about the operation, and the weapons, balaclavas and
body armour found at the Artur brothers’ Nairobi home are similar to
those used in the raid.

President Kibaki, meanwhile, has come under fire for failing to
discuss the airport security breach or allegations from opposition
politicians that the men had enjoyed state protection.

A commission of inquiry has been set up, and the head of Kenya’s
CID, along with the airport security chief, has been suspended. But
opposition politicians have called for Mr Michuki to be sacked,
and parliament has promised to set up its own inquiry.