Is Kuria an undercover lawyer for Armenians? By Patrick Mathangani and Biketi
Kikechi
The Standard, Kenya
July 12 2006
Is Senior Counsel Gibson Kamau Kuria representing the Artur brothers
through the backdoor? That is the question the Kiruki Commission of
Inquiry had to wrestle with on Wednesday.
Kuria, who is on record for Narc activist Mary Wambui’s daughter,
Winfred Wangui, was taken to task after he appeared to be defending
the bogus Armenian brothers, Artur Margaryan and Artur Sargasyan.
A commissioner, Hassan Isaack, took Kuria to task, telling him that
as an officer of the High Court appearing for a client, he should
not be seen as being misused by others not present at the commission.
Lawyer Gibson Kamau Kuria cross-examines a witness at the Kiruki
Commission of Inquiry at the Kenyatta International Conference Centre,
Nairobi, on Wednesday. Pic by Jacob Otieno
"Do you have instructions from the Artur brothers?" Hassan asked Kuria,
adding: "If you continue with this line of questioning, it will appear
that you will be taking over the brief of those who were turned away."
Last week, lawyer Oscar Avedi appeared before the commission inquiring
into the activities of the brothers and sought leave to represent them.
Big cover-up
But commission chairman Shedrach Kiruki turned him away because it was
not clear whom he wanted to represent as the real Artur Margaryan and
Artur Sargasyan lived in the city of Yerevan, Armenia, and the United
Arab Emirates and had never been to Kenya, according to Interpol.
However, Kuria said he had no instructions from the Artur brothers
and assured the commission that he would comply with its directions.
"But whether it is the Artur brothers or not, I have the duty of
assisting the commission in finding the truth," said Kuria.
He accused the assisting counsel of a big cover-up, and urged the
commission to find out the truth on the Armenian saga either through
cross-examination of witnesses or through other people.
Assisting counsel Dorcas Oduor had interjected while Kuria was
cross-examining a witness, and sought to know who Kuria’s client was.
Just as in the previous day, Kuria put it to the witness that it
was the Customs officers that had provoked the Armenians. He claimed
the Arturs had not drawn guns at the airport as alleged by Charles
Nambale and Nelson Ochieng.
Derogatory racial slurs
Kuria also accused Nambale of being on the payroll of politicians.
Oduor at this point sought to know the limit of Kuria’s brief because
he was putting statements to the witness when it was clear his client
was not at the scene.
"If his instructions are different from what we have on record,
then there must be another witness who is instructing him… but
for purposes of clarity, it is important for us to know his limit,"
said Oduor.
And in another day of high drama, graphic details of the combat
abilities of the Arturs emerged, with a Customs official re-enacting
a brutal assault on him by the brothers.
During the attack, the official was punched and humiliated with
derogatory racial slurs. It was the first witness account to
corroborate what has only been widely published in the local media
about the alleged Armenians, described variously as international
crooks on the run.
Racial epithets
On Wednesday, Nambale – himself a self-defence artist trained in the
United Kingdom – moved the commission with an account of his moments
of horror at the hands of Margaryan.
Still in pain even as he testified, he pleaded for pain killers. The
commission obliged. He narrated how the brothers hurled racial epithets
at him, calling him a "stupid African" and a "black African monkey,"
Nambale said.
His crime: He refused to clear the guests Margaryan had come to
receive at the airport after they declined to pay duty.
The guests claimed the goods they had brought in, including seven
CCTV cameras and a receiver, were worth Sh40,000 but he judged they
were much more expensive and attracted more duty.
When he refused to clear them, a protocol officer from the Ministry
of Foreign Affairs asked him to "talk to Winnie" but he declined
because he could only take orders from his own boss.