Heritage

Muthama: Politician with a keen eye on precious stones

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A man who left schooling in Primary Standard 7 “because of lack of school fees”, Johnstone Muthama surprises many with his prowess in the English language and mastery of mining business. FILE PHOTO | NATION MEDIA GROUP

Johnstone Muthama is not your regular run-of-the-mill politician. He is immensely rich, boisterous to a point, pushy, but not grumpy. He loves cheering crowds, too, and when taking on opponents, some say, his speeches edge dangerously close to hate speech.

A man who left schooling in Primary Standard 7 “because of lack of school fees”, Muthama surprises many with his prowess in the English language and mastery of mining business.

In 2011, when he was the Kangundo MP, Mr Muthama volunteered to start paying taxes on his salary, going against the wishes of other politicians.

This week, the Machakos Senator was back in the news – not because of his engagements as a politician – but as a result of a mining business that has made him one of richest men in Kenya.

Born in 1954, Mr Muthama’s love for nduma, ngwaci and sorghum porridge is well known. He talked about it when he was interviewed by a TV station in his one-storey Runda home, a well-kept compound with a giant swimming pool standing out in the background.

Since his name appeared in the list of individuals with dollar deposits in a Swiss bank, his phone has not stopped ringing. Mr Muthama, who has homes in Machakos, Kangundo and Nyali, spent much of his time hosting reporters. His assistant, Philip Mulei, was the man taking the heat, fielding requests from journalists and booking appointments.

While it has been a natural practice for politicians to deny allegations of stashing money abroad, Mr Muthama openly admitted that he held a Rockland96 account with HSBC Bank (Hong Kong and Shanghai Banking Corporation) in Switzerland.

According to Mr Muthama, the account was opened for business and later closed.

The Swiss bank report, which is considered the greatest leak in banking history showed that many Kenyans, including Mr Muthama, deposited Sh51.1 billion in the said bank within a four-year period.

READ: Kenyans on list of those with cash in Swiss banks

It is perhaps this revelation that goes to show the extent of Mr Muthama’s business deals and connections and why he dons a ruby on his ring finger.

As one of the biggest players in the mining sector, Muthama’s Rockland inherited some mining pits that belonged to John Saul, an American geologist who once accused the Jomo Kenyatta government of stealing his rubies, triggering a diplomatic row between Kenya and the US.

The ruby pits are still known internationally as the John Saul mines, and are regarded as Kenya’s most important ruby mines. They were discovered in 1973 and still remain the most sought after rubies in the international market.

It is these mines that catapulted Mr Muthama to the heart of the lucrative trade. He later pursued studies at the Gemological Institute of America, a non-governmental organisation that says its mission is to protect all buyers and sellers of gemstones by setting and maintaining standards used to evaluate gemstone quality.

Besides Rockland Kenya, Mr Muthama also operates two other businesses: Muthama Gemstone (K) Ltd and Nina Marie Ltd, a clothing retail venture.

Boisterous spirit

As one of the few indigenous Kenyans who runs the lucrative precious stone pits in Tsavo, the senator is known to have had mining interests in Tanzania with market ties in Thailand.

His company ranks among the 15 major gemstone dealers in the country, according to a 2004 report by the Mines and Geology department.

Ruby, a red coloured expensive stone used to make jewellery is mined in Kitui, Taita Taveta, Baringo, Kwale and West Pokot, and was first discovered in East Africa in the 1960s.

Some sources say that Mr Muthama was introduced to the business by his uncle, Francis Kalinzoya, a mineral dealer. But it was Mr Muthama who excelled, eclipsing his uncle and many others in the business.

Those who have seen his boisterous spirit in politics say that Mr Muthama never rests until he gets his way. That is how he has found some solace in real estate under his Rockstone Properties Ltd and Johnstone Nduya Muthama Holdings.

In 2007, the former pupil of Kyamulendu Primary school was elected as Kangundo MP and became the chief whip of the Narc party. It is a position that catapulted him from an unknown behind-the-scenes operator to the centre of Kenya politics.

Over the years, he had been a close ally of Kalonzo Musyoka, and when before the 2013 General Election it seemed that the former vice president had no political allies having been edged out of the Uhuru-Ruto group, it was Mr Muthama who rushed to Raila Odinga’s Orange Democratic Movement and secured him a deal.

It is the same way he clinches deals in the mining business where exports in gemstones have steadily increased over the years. And although their contribution to the gross domestic product still remains at less than 1 per cent, the 2014 Economic Survey says there was an increase in value of gemstones in 2013 despite a rise in production and demand for low grade stones from India, Sri Lanka and Thailand.

Those who love Mr Muthama do so with a passion – although he hardly smiles in public, opting to wear a serious face.

When there was pandemonium in Parliament during the debate on the controversial security laws, he left with his trouser ripped.

He has also been caught up in the Malili land compensation saga and was named in the controversy that followed the purchase of a Sh310 million house for the chief justice in Runda.

READ: Tobiko says he has evidence to prosecute Malili suspects

But in all these, Mr Muthama is one of the never-say-die politicians always looking for a chance to fight another day.

While he has had a smooth run in the ruby mines, it is a rough world for him in the political pits where he has also been fighting supremacy wars against Machakos Governor Alfred Mutua.

Last week, he threatened to quit Cord if it didn’t convert to a single party. He reckoned that it’s only through one party that they can win the 2017 General Election. Whether he will walk remains to be seen.