The Nation, Kenya
June 30 2006
Passports mix-up in panic to expel Arturs
Story by LUCAS BARASA and MUGUMO MUNENE
Publication Date: 6/30/2006
The Armenian Artur brothers were mistakenly given return air tickets
in the panic to get them kicked out of Kenya, it was revealed
yesterday.
The tickets were about to be handed over with take-off just 30
minutes away, when the error was spotted and the return part of the
tickets was ripped out, the inquiry into the brothers’ activities was
told.
And as a whirlwind of activity went on around them to ensure they got
on the plane in time, Artur Margaryan was allowed to travel on
someone else’s passport – that of a Russian called Gevorkiyan – while
his supposed brother Sargsyan who had no passport was given emergency
travel papers.
Bizarrely, instead of saying he was being expelled, the document
merely stated he was going to Dubai on business which meant Mr
Sargsyan could legally claim he was never deported. And it was
wrongly dated, too: July 9 instead of June 9, the inquiry was told.
Because the paper, known as a Certificate of Emergency Travel, said
Mr Sargsyan was travelling on business and there are still 10 days to
go until July 9, he could in theory use it to return to Kenya, the
inquiry heard.
And in a day of dramatic disclosures, it was also claimed that the
brothers were cleared to work in Kenya by both the Immigration
Department and the National Security Intelligence Service, which
vetted their work permit applications.
The series of revelations rocked the second day of the inquiry into
the two Armenians, described the previous day by Immigration minister
Gideon Konchella as "dubious international criminals."
Mr Sargsyan’s emergency travel papers showed he was either Armenian
or Russian, the inquiry at Kenyatta International Conference Centre
was told by its second witness, principal immigration officer Joseph
Ndathi.
Asked why the certificate did not read ‘deportation’, Mr Ndathi
replied, "it is a question of language semantics." He explained: "He
was going to Dubai where he had come from to continue with his
business."
Asked by assisting counsel Warui Mungai if Mr Sargsyan could claim he
was not deported, Mr Ndathi said, "he will be within his rights to do
so."
He said it was the deportation orders and the systems put in place to
prevent the Artur brothers from re-entering Kenya that mattered most.
Mr Mungai told Mr Ndathi investigations also showed the Artur
brothers were given return air tickets. Mr Ndathi replied that the
four Kenya Airways tickets – including two for two other people
deported with the brothers – were delivered by lawyer Kamau Mbugua
and two other unidentified people.
"My lords, they were return tickets but the officers scrutinised and
the return coupons were removed. They left with a one-way ticket,"
the immigration officer said.
The tickets were bought using taxpayers money, in spite of the law
allowing the Government to ask wealthy people to pay for their own
travel.
On the deportation date the lawyer, Mr Mbugua also handed Mr Ndathi a
passport in the name of Mr Arthur Gevorkiyan for use by Mr Artur
Margaryan, the taller and bearded brother. It was this passport,
showing Mr Gevorkiyan as a Russian, that Mr Margaryan used to travel
to Dubai.
Mr Ndathi had a hard time explaining to the commission why Mr
Margaryan was allowed to travel using a passport that was not in his
own name. He said that there were only 30 minutes to the flight and
that Kenya Airways had agreed to the arrangement.
"The security of the State should be seen as of greater concern than
a travel document. The passport was also accepted in Dubai," Mr
Ndathi said.
A photograph in a copy of Mr Margaryan’s passport tabled before the
Commission was different from that in Mr Gevorkiyan’s passport.
He said the certificate of emergency travel were recognised
internationally as one-way travel documents and anyone found re-using
one could be fined.
Mr Mungai: Must the deportee have a passport?
Mr Ndathi: It is one of the documents one must have. If not, we issue
an emergency travel certificate.
Mr Ndathi said the true nationalities of the Artur brothers were
unknown and that his department had relied on information given to
them to conclude they were Armenians. "They have given conflicting
documents and we need to research these people further," he said.
He said the Arturs had never applied for Kenyan citizenship and that
Kenyan passports recovered from their Runda home were stolen from the
Immigration department in May. Another passport stolen on May 2, was
still missing. He said Kenyan passports could only be granted to
foreigners with entry permits who had been in the country for at
least five years. Records show the Arturs first came to Kenya last
year.
A passport in the name of Artak Sargsyan recovered from the Runda
residence showed the holder was a Kenyan. And although the name was
slightly different from another passport found there, which
identified him as Artur and not Artak, the photographs in the two
passports were the same. Immigration records showed the stolen
passports belonged to Selasio Njeru Mutumuka and Edith Kahaya
Asegere.
Assisting counsel Dorcas Oduor said signatures in the recovered
passports had been taken for forensic examination. Mr Ndathi said
Kenyan passports were susceptible to having the photographs switched.
He blamed problems facing the Immigration department to under
funding, staff shortage and poor technological advancement. He said
the department received little support from the Treasury and relied
on part of its revenue collection, whose total was Sh1.8 billion last
year, for development, operations, and staff pay and allowances.
Its efforts to upgrade its information communication technology were
hampered by the Anglo Leasing scandal, Mr Ndathi said.
It also came to light that the country’s Intelligence and
Immigrations officials fell for suspect official documents presented
by the Armenian brothers.
The commission was told the brothers were cleared by both the
National Security Intelligence Service and the Immigration Department
to conduct business in Kenya. The clearance was given following a
request made by the Immigration department in keeping with their
tradition of having every request for an entry permit checked before
foreigners were allowed into the country.
The Armenians were finally issued with two-year permits on January 23
this year. They were cancelled after the two were deported.