POLICE WERE SLOPPY IN ARTUR BROTHERS PROBE
Story by Stephen Muiruri and Mugumo Munene
Daily Nation , Kenya
Aug. 28, 2006
Police chiefs have been accused of being indifferent and amateurish
in the way they handled the Artur brothers’ saga from the time they
learnt the two were international criminals to when they ordered
their deportation.
People who have read the findings of the Kiruki Commission, which
investigated the saga, said the force has been criticised for:
Failure to act on an Armenia Interpol report, which revealed Mr Artur
Margaryan and Mr Artur Sargsyan were travelling on stolen passports
and were part of an international gang syndicate.
Breaking the force chain of command in investigating the brothers.
The way they handled the breach of security at the Jomo Kenyatta
International Airport, which saw the foreigners deported instead of
being arrested and charged.
The way they carried out their investigations after the brothers had
been deported to Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates.
Lack of commitment Those who have seen the report say Chapter Six is
dedicated to how the police handled the entire saga.
They quote the commission as having found out that the "actions
(by police chiefs) showed they lacked commitment, coordination and
professionalism."
In particular, sources say the report criticises police commissioner
Mohamed Hussein Ali for disregarding the force’s chain of command by
appointing Mr Isaiah Osugo, the then deputy Nairobi provincial CID
chief, to investigate claims by MPs Raila Odinga and Kalonzo Musyoka
that the brothers were mercenaries and that they had been hired by
the Government to assassinate them.
Maj-Gen Ali acted in a manner suggesting he had no faith in suspended
CID chief Joseph Kamau and then Nairobi provincial CID chief Sammy
Githui by overlooking them and dealing directly with Mr Osugo, their
junior, sources say.
The matter was taken up by the media as evidence of hostile relations
between the police boss and Mr Kamau. Mr Githui was transferred to
Embu in the same capacity and replaced by Mr Osugo.
The Kiruki commission is understood to have noted that the scope
of Mr Osugo’s investigations seemed to have been expanded later to
include all matters touching on the Armenian brothers.
Those who are familiar with the report say it notes that Mr Kamau,
through his advocate, Mrs Jane Ondieki, told the commission that he
had been deliberately sidelined by Maj-Gen Ali.
They say it recommends that the police department be subjected to
a management audit to establish if the current leadership structure
and functional set-up are relevant.
Redundant structures should be identified and disposed of and officers
assessed for competence.
The audit should be done urgently to avoid a repeat of an incident
such as the JKIA’s, which embarrassed the country locally and
internationally, they quote the commissioners saying.
If the police had taken correct and timely actions, the Arturs
would have been arrested before they could leave JKIA’s baggage hall
after a gun drama. This would have saved the country considerable
embarrassment, the document is reported to say.
The presence of the Arturs was first made known to the police by
public statements made by Mr Odinga and Mr Musyoka in March, when
they claimed that they knew of an assassination plot against them.
The brothers in turn addressed journalists at JKIA and denied the
claims, while alleging that Mr Odinga owed them money and that he
was merely attacking them to avoid repaying it.
On March 15, the Kenyan police wrote to Interpol Armenia seeking
information on Mr Margaryan and Mr Sargsyan concerning their
nationality, occupation and whereabouts, according to evidence before
the commission.
And on two occasions – March 18 and April 3 – Interpol Armenia informed
the police that an impostor was using the name of Artur Margaryan,
which had been reported stolen and replaced. The passport had been
stolen from a tax collector.
As for Mr Artur Sargsyan, the Interpol said that according to the
Armenia’s General Department of combat against organised crime, he
had left Armenia a long time ago for United Arab Emirates and was
wanted for evading military duty, according to the evidence.
Interpol Armenia then sent the photos of the two Arturs and requested
Interpol Kenya to cross-check with the two men, who were then in Kenya,
and notify Armenia on results of any investigations against them.
Interpol also informed the police that the two men had no relationship
with the Armenian Prime Minister and the President as they had claimed
at the JKIA news conference.
Those who have read the report say the commission notes that although
Interpol Armenia responded to all the requests from Interpol Kenya,
the former’s requests were not reciprocated.
They say that although Interpol Kenya was fully informed by their
Armenian counterparts about the Arturs’ criminal record, no attempts
were made to share the data with the immigration department.
Maj-Gen Ali only appointed Mr Osugo to investigate the brothers when
Mr Odinga made the assassination claims.
Amateurish search
The police are taken to task for the manner they carried out a
search at the Arturs’ Runda residence following the deportation,
the sources say.
Although the police knew they had guns, they carried out "an
amateurish" search that took them three days and the recovered items
were not properly accounted for.
The items included two Armenian passports No AB03222223, bearing the
name of Artur Margaryan and No AF0599780 in the name of Artur Sargsyan.
The documents were given to a Mr Gagan Depar to deliver to the Arturs
who had been allegedly stranded at Dubai Airport. Sources say the
Kiruki commission observes that the move was not in order.
They also quote the report as stating that the passports should have
been stamped Prohibited Immigrant (PI) to ensure the two did not
return to Kenya.
Questions were raised on why none of the two Armenians were questioned;
asked to record statements or had their fingerprints/palm and
photographs taken.