By John Ikani
Millions of dollars of public funds allegedly stolen by two of Kenya’s richest men are being returned to the country from Jersey Island to buy life-saving Covid-19 equipment following a landmark agreement signed in London.
The funds, amounting to Sh450 million were confiscated by Jersey authorities in 2011, following the successful conviction of Windward Trading Ltd for money laundering offences.
The firm ran secret offshore bank accounts belonging to former Kenya Power boss Samuel Gichuru and ex-Energy minister Chris Okemo who were accused of taking kickbacks from multinationals which were sent to Windward Trading Ltd.
Meanwhile the deal to repatriate the funds have been hailed as “a victory for the people of Kenya” by its High Commissioner in the UK, Manoah Esipisu.
Esipisu who signed the deal in London with Jersey’s Attorney General, Mark Temple said “the development signifies Kenya’s commitment to fighting corruption in all its manifestation.
“The repatriation of the Sh450 million signifies that there is nowhere in the world for corrupt individuals to hide their loot. Kenya is committed to working with partners such as the United Kingdom, Switzerland, and Jersey, to realise the aspiration of Framework for the Return of Assets from Corruption and Crime in Kenya (FRACCK),” he said.
He added: “The utilisation of the repatriated funds will go a long way in hastening the realisation of the Universal Health care (UHC) programme which is one of the flagship areas under the Big 4 Agenda.”
