Remember Goldenberg! Cost Kenya 10% Of GDP. The final opinion on the evidence reviewed is that although the above were criminal actions of an economic nature, they could only have succeeded with the necessary political backing they were provided with by officers of state who flagrantly violated the basic rules by which they were bound in virtue of their positions.
Remember Goldenberg! Cost Kenya 10% Of GDP “Our final opinion on the evidence reviewed is that although the above were criminal actions of an economic nature, they could only have succeeded with the necessary political backing they were provided with by officers of state who flagrantly
violated the basic rules by which they were bound in virtue of their positions. In sum, it was because of the culture of impunity. If that culture is to be brought to an end in Kenya, then there is a need for firm action to be taken against all those who have been implicated in this grand scheme of criminal malfeasance. If it has taken fifteen years for the whole truth to emerge, there can be no excuse for inaction now.”
Hon. Justice Samuel William Wako Wambuzi
Chief Justice Emeritus of the Republic of Uganda
Prof. Chris Maina Peter
Professor of Law, University of Dar es Salaam
Prof. J. Oloka-Onyango
Professor of Law, Makerere University
The economic, financial and political events that developed in the Republic of Kenya in the 1990s and came to be known as the Goldenberg Affair were the brainchild of a Kenyan citizen named Kamlesh Mansukhlal Dhamji Pattni. In his late 20s and without substantial schooling, Kamlesh Pattni conceived a financial scheme which was to facilitate the stealing from the national coffers in Kenya of substantial amounts of money—running into millions of dollars.
This scheme involved people high up the political ladder in Kenya who in one way or another stood to gain from it and thus provided the much needed protection and cover for the scheme to take place and eventually succeed. How this scheme was conceived, who was involved, and its general effects on economic and political governance in Kenya were the subject of a judicial inquiry.
The Commission of Inquiry into the Goldenberg Affair referred to as the Bosire Commission was set up by notice in the Kenya Gazette of February 24, 2003 by the President of Kenya, H.E. Mwai Kibaki, and placed under the Chairmanship of Hon. Mr. Justice Samuel Elkanah Onderi Bosire of the Court of Appeal of Kenya. The Bosire Commission held public hearings for a period of almost two years. It began work on 14th March, 2003 and conducted its final public session on 10th February, 2005.
Over that period, about 102 witnesses were called to testify; 188 exhibits were tendered; and oral and documentary evidence was adduced. The Hansard of the sittings of the Commission ran to over 18,000 pages. Over 55 advocates appeared before the Commission. While the majority of them represented various people who had been adversely mentioned—some of who appeared and others who chose not to—yet others were invited as amicus curie to assist the Commission in its deliberations.
The Goldenberg Inquiry was one of the longest single inquiries in the history of Kenya. Moreover, it has not been cheap to the taxpayer. According to one source, the inquiry cost an average of KShs. 15 million per month. The Grand Regency Hotel sale scandal refocuses attention on Goldenberg.
The law on which the sale was based is illegal. Section 56B of the Anti Corruption and Economic Crimes Act which allows the Kenya Anti Corruption Commission to enter into out of court Settlements with corruption suspects for both civil and criminal Proceedings as it did with Kamlesh Pattni is illegal because it was deleted by Parliament on 13th September 2007 at page 3929 of the Hansard of Parliament. We are of the view that Goldenberg must not be allowed to go unpunished.
Goldenberg cost Kenya 10% of its GDP and most of the culprits identified by the Bosire Commission are still alive and over 158 Billion traced is recoverable. All that is needed is political will. We upload the following extracts from Kituo Cha Katiba’s sterling investigations of Goldenberg to enable a very simple understanding of the Goldenberg Scam.
1. What were the origins of Goldenberg?
2. Did Goldenberg International Limited follow the law?
3. Does Kenya have Diamonds and/or Gold?
4. Did Goldenberg International Limited actually deal in or export diamonds and gold?
5. If diamonds and gold were exported as alleged, what was the quantity and to whom was it exported?
6. Where did Goldenberg International Limited get the diamonds/gold it allegedly exported?
7. How did Goldenberg International Limited acquire a license to export diamond and gold?
8. How did Goldenberg International Ltd secure the monopoly to export gold?
9. How much money was paid by the Ministry of Finance and Central Bank Of Kenya to Goldenberg International Ltd?
10. What are the circumstances surrounding the payment of KShs. 5.8 billion to Goldenberg International Ltd ?
11. What were the circumstances surrounding the payment of US $ 210 million to Exchange Bank Limited (EBL) in respect of fictitious foreign exchange claims?
12. What was the fraudulent scheme of cheque-kiting by Goldenberg International Ltd and associated banks?
13. Were the moneys illegally obtained from Central Bank of Kenya, the Customs Department and the Treasury , used to fund the campaigns of any political parties?
14. What effect did the Goldenberg related civil and criminal litigation have on the administration of justice in Kenya?
15. The Broad Issues Emerging From The Goldenberg Affair
16. Specific And General Recommendations on the Goldenberg Affair
Author
Anonymous (not verified)
