Inquiry told of third Artur brother
By Patrick Mathangani

The Standard, Kenya
July 21,2 006

The Kiruki Commission was told of a third Armenian who pressured Kenya
Ports Authority officials to release a container without paying duty.

The container belonged to Kesington Holdings, which is owned by the
Arturs, Ms Winfred Wangui Mwai â~@~S daughter of Narc activist Mary
Wambui – and two other people.

A senior deputy commissioner with Kenya Revenue Authority, Alphonse
Morunga, on Friday said a man who identified himself as Alex and a
brother of the Arturs, pressured him to have the container released.

However, only a quarter of Sh3.2 million duty, for the container
had been paid, because its contents had been under-declared, said
Morunga. The Commission has been told that the other directors of
Kesington Holdings are Julius Maina Mwangi and Aloise Otieno Omita.

On Friday, Morunga said the contents in the container had been declared
as "assorted electronic goods" yet when it was opened, it contained
three mattresses in addition to the goods.

A clearing and forwarding firm known as Marketing Bureau Services,
handled the container, the Commission heard.

Disappearance of containers

The directors of the firm were named as Eunice Munyoki, Jane Munyoki
and James Kitonga, while the company secretary is Edward Gachau
Kariuki. The Commission was told the firmâ~@~Ys PIN has since been
suspended.

Some officials of the firm have now been asked to report to the
police every week as investigation continues, he said. He said two
other containers belonging to the Arturs disappeared while being
transported to a bonded warehouse and investigation was under way to
establish how they were diverted.

Morunga said Alex claimed the goods were to be donated to schools and
threatened to organise a demonstration to have them released. Alex
then got annoyed and said he could not understand how Kenya could
develop when it was turning away aid, said Morunga.

He said whenever duty is under-declared, both the clearing agents and
the importer have to shoulder the responsibility for any undesirable
imports. But he said he did not know whether any Government officials
have been suspended following the disappearance of the containers.

Application to bar media

Meanwhile, the Kiruki Commission was urged not to block The Standard
and the Nation from covering its proceedings.

The defense of the newspapers by the Commissionâ~@~Ys lead counsel,
Ms Dorcas Oduor, came following an application by Ms Winnie Wangui
Mwai to have them thrown out of the proceedings. Wangui is the daughter
of Narc activist Mary Wambui.

On Tuesday, Wanguiâ~@~Ys lawyer, Gibson Kamau Kuria, told the
Commission that the papers had put her on trial by shining the
spotlight on her in stories they published. He cited the headlines
of the stories, which said Mwaiâ~@~Ys firm â~@~S Kesignton Holdings
Ltd â~@~T had forged documents.

The other directors of the firm are Artur Sargasyan, Artur Margaryan,
Julius Maina Mwangi and Aloise Otieno Omita. On Friday, Oduor said
the Commission, which is investigative, was not involved in any trial.

"This is not a trial and that there is no jury to be influenced as
envisaged in that article," she said.

She said the Commission was a tribunal, and not all evidence brought
before it was judicially adduced. She noted that Kuria had not
complained about the accuracy of the stories, which highlighted
evidence adduced the previous day.

Complaint lodged by defense lawyer

Kuria had only complained about the headline, she said, and not
about the article. The Standard Group and The Nation Media Group will
respond to Kuriaâ~@~Ys application next week.

The lead counsel said the law of contempt could only be applied where
there is inaccuracy or misrepresentation.

The commissioners also could not be influenced by newspaper reports,
she said, and asked the Commission to consider whether its proceedings
had been prejudiced.

"This tribunal bends on the rule of hearsay and sometimes we rely on
articles that are not even the subject matter of this Commission. We
sometimes allow hearsay and some times allow newspaper articles as
part of our evidence."

She also warned the Commission to be careful, because Kuriaâ~@~Ys
complaint was not in its favour, but in that of Wangui. "It is worse
when the complaint is lodged by a defense lawyer."

"What Iâ~@~Ym saying is that the complain has an interest, and that
interest is not in favour of the tribunal but in the interest of Dr
Kamau Kuriaâ~@~Ys client," said Oduor.

"We have to be careful and balance the rights of the person complaining
and public interest that has to be safeguarded."

–Boundary_(ID_+2uGXCRIhoa7AXR 2y5/bHw)–

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress