UK ‘has list of Kenya graft lords’

The UK government has a list of Kenya’s most corrupt individuals who face possible asset seizures and future travel restrictions to the European country, the outgoing British High Commissioner to Nairobi Nic Hailey has said.

Mr Hailey, in an exit interview with the Business Daily following the end of his tour of duty in the country, says the British government is keeping a keen eye on Kenyan officials who amass public resources for personal gain.

“We have specialist teams (from investigation and prosecutions agencies) from the UK working out here, tracking the assets of the people and we can tell you that we are pretty close to playing a big part in bringing these people to book,” he said in Nairobi in a wide-ranging interview that is set to be published in full later this week.

Mr Hailey is completing his term in the country, having served since December 2015 when he replaced Dr Christian Turner.

"I obviously can’t talk about the names of individuals because I don’t want to tip them off but I think we are pretty close to building evidence with the Kenyan authorities where people have stashed the money in the UK which will contribute to convictions."

Entry visas

The diplomat, who spoke as 26 senior public officials including the Treasury Secretary Henry Rotich and his deputy Kamau Thugge were charged with graft, says those charged or convicted with corruption will not be given entry visas into the UK.

Denial of visas is part of a strategy intended to limit the transfer of stolen cash into jurisdictions beyond Kenya’s investigation agencies.

The UK became the third country, after Switzerland and Jersey Island, when it signed a proceeds of corruption repatriation agreement with Kenya in August last year.

Under the deal signed when British Prime Minister Theresa May toured Nairobi, all assets stashed in the UK by corrupt Kenyans will be returned and channelled to specific sectors of the economy such as building schools, hospitals, stocking them with medicines, repairing roads or purchase of equipment useful to the public.

The UK has also been supporting law enforcement by embedding advisors on investigations as well as an International Anti-Corruption Liaison Officer from the UK National Crime Agency to support and help co-ordinate investigations that reach beyond Kenya’s borders.

The diplomat, however, said the UK is limited and can only ride on Kenya’s own determination to weed out graft.

According to global graft watchdog Transparency International, Kenya’s ranking worsened in 2018, taking position 144 out of 180 polled countries in public sector corruption perception, ranking among countries such as Somalia and Burundi.

Part of the poor performance here comes from unresolved, decades-old scandals like the Goldenberg scam (Sh158 billion), Eurobond (Sh251 billion), Anglo Leasing (Sh3.5 billion), National Youth Service (Sh791 million) and the latest Arror and Kimwarer dams theft that have roped in key Treasury officials.

Sh698 billion lost

One recent report published by OpenAfrica, an online portal by Code for Africa that tracks key public service data, indicated Kenya may have lost at least Sh698 billion in 34 major public sector scandals since Independence.
The amount excludes ‘smaller’ or unreported thefts.

"The future depends on a country that is run for the benefit of everyone and stealing from the public purses is the ultimate way of showing that the country is not being run that way.

"Speaking out publicly is important and the loudest voices are Kenyan voices not international voices but…we are certainly doing certain things to make it harder for people to get away with it."

Despite the usual, and vocal support from Kenya’s allies like the UK and US in the fight against graft, the problem has been lack of convictions especially for the big fish.

Cases that have involved Kenyan and foreign entities such as the Chickengate scandal have dragged frustratingly slow in Kenya even when their counterparts are prosecuted, convicted and jailed.

After the 2013 General Election, UK printing firm Smith & Ouzman executives were found guilty of bribing electoral officials in Kenya and other countries. Yet even after they served their jail terms and paid the fines, the suspected recipients in Kenya are still walking free.

'Chickengate' scandal

The UK has since returned Sh43 million from the ‘Chickengate’ scandal, that may have involved Sh50 million in bribes, into Kenya from the case, which was used to buy ambulances for various county hospitals.

Part of the new deal signed between Nairobi and London last year involves sharing crucial records on suspects and a speedy processing of mutual legal assistance requests.