I’LL WED WINNIE IN KENYA: ARTUR MARGARYAN
Story By Francis Thoya

Daily Nation , Kenya
April 18 2007

The man at the centre of newspaper reports of a plot to kill Opposition
leaders has vowed to wed his sweetheart Winnie Wangui in Kenya despite
a ban from entering the country.

Mr Artur Margaryan said he expected to wed Ms Wangui between June
and July, with or without a valid entry permit.

In a telephone interview from Sri Lanka, Mr Artur said: "Neither the
Security minister nor the police commissioner will stop me from coming
to Kenya."

He further said: "I expect a lot of dignitaries drawn from all over
the world to attend. For a week, I’ll be in Kenya, the next week in
Dubai and finally in Armenia."

Mr Margaryan is locked in a controversy over claims that a senior
government official approached him to assassinate Baringo Central
MP Gideon Moi. A story detailing these claims and published by The
Standard, prompted police commissioner Hussein Ali to summon the
entire senior management of the group to record statements on Monday.

They were freed that night after hours of questioning. Security
minister John Michuki also dismissed the report.

But yesterday, Mr Margaryan said he had damning information against
several Cabinet ministers.

At the same time The Standard Group said it was willing to give more
information on the story. Speaking to the Nation by telephone, its
group editorial director Kwendo Opanga said apart from the information
and the tapes they provided to the police on Monday, they have not
been asked for more.

Further proof

"We’re committed to assisting in further investigations if called
upon to do so," said Mr Opanga.

Yesterday, The Standard management met with its lawyers following
Monday’s incident in which four of it top managers were quizzed by
CID detectives over the Arturs story. The government has ordered
investigations into the newspaper reports.

Mr Margaryan insisted that summoning of the Standard Group managers
was aimed at hiding the truth.

He promised to reveal the names of all individuals he had dealt with
in President Kibaki’s government before he was whisked out of the
country hurriedly last year after causing a security scare at the
Jomo Kenyatta International Airport.