Amani National Congress leader Musalia Mudavadi looking at a documents he was should during the hearing Anglo-leasing case at Nairobi Anti-corruption Court on Wednesday September 21,2016.
BY NAIROBI CORRESPONDENT.
Amani National Congress leader Musalia Mudavadi has told the anti-corruption court that his former colleagues in government are not guilty of stealing Anglo-leasing money.
The money that the government lost with the infamous Anglo-leasing scandal was Sh10 billion.
Mr Mudavadi who at the time was the Transport and Infrastructure Minister took the witness stand in the case involving former Finance Minister and now Kisii County Senator Chris Obure, former Postmaster General Francis Chahonyo, former Financial Secretary Samuel Bundotich and former Permanent Secretary Sammy Kyungu.
During cross-examination by defense lawyers Kioko Kilukumi and Chacha Odera, Mudavadi told the anti-corruption court that “based on all the documentation one cannot say their actions were arbitrary as the laid down procedures were followed.”
The ex- minister said the four did not make a personal decision in awarding the contracts as they were satisfied with the necessary information and documentation required before doing so.
“Minister Obure at the time, authorised payment after being satisfied with information he had sought from my Ministry and cannot therefore be said to have acted arbitrarily,’’ he added.
The former senior government officials have since denied conspiring to defraud the government of Sh10 billion by awarding the Anglo-Leasing contracts.
The contracts were entered between the Government of Kenya and two US companies for the supply of internet services in 2002.
He said that he never interacted with Spacenet and Mercantile companies but admitted to signing letters seeking support from the Ministry of Finance after he received information that the Postal Corporation, a parastatal under his Ministry required new technology to improve its services.
Chahonyo and Kyungu are alleged to have initiated the procurement in a network of operations executed between March and July 2002 for which Obure authorised the payments while Bundotich made the payments.
Obure faces two counts of abuse of office and breach of trust by authorising the Ministry of Transport to directly procure VSAT equipment from Spacenet Inc for the Postal Corporation of Kenya without following procurement procedures.
The trial was adjourned to November when Senator Amos Wako is expected to testify.
