News

By Eric Nyakagwa and Rachel Musyoka

MYSTERY surrounds the circumstances under which two containers Belonging to the controversial Artur brothers-and which had earlier Been reported to have disappeared-have resurfaced.

Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) has since announced plans to auction the two containers-and a third one also belonging to the deported Armenian brothers at the end of this month.

Through a Kenya Gazette notice dated July 27,KRA has given the owners of unclaimed containers at its bonded warehouse in Mombasa among them two companies associated with Artur Margaryan and Artur Sargasyan, 30 days to claim them or lose them through public auction

The three containers,with an Alleged assortment of electronic goods, were the subject of controversy during the Shedrach Kiruki Commission of Inquiry into the Arturs saga, when it was revealed that two of them had had disappeared as they were being transported to a bonded warehouse.

Kiruki' s commission handed its fidings to President Kibaki last year but the Heed of State has yet to make the report's recommendations public

However during the commissions sittings at Nairobi’s Kenyatta International Centre (KICC),Senior KRA deputy commissioner Alphonse Morunga said investigations were underway To establish how the containers were diverted But he said he did not know whether any Government officials have been suspended following the disappearance of the containers.

He also revealed how a third Armenian pressed Kenya Ports Authority (KPA) officials to release the third container without paying duty.

The consignee of the third container was given As Kensington Holdings, Which is owned by the Arturs, Winfred Wangui Mwai,the daughter of Narc activist Mary Wambui, Juliusr Maina Mwangi andAloise Otieno Omita.

He told the Kiruki Commission a man, Who identified himself Only as Alex, and a brother of the Arturs, pressurised him to release the container.

However, only Shs 800,000, or a quarter of the Shs 3.2 million duty for the container, had been paid, because its contents bad been under-declared, the commission as told.

The three containers were, according to the Gazzette notice, imported on various dates in June last year and arrived at Mombasa port aboard three ships.

The first container, belonging To Brotherlink International Arrived aboard Nordstar on June 4 last year and the second on June 15 aboard M. Arkansas. Kensington Holding brought in the third the next day aboard Kota Mardesa.

According to Morunga’s testimony At the commission, Alex,the alleged Third Artur brother, claimed that the goods in the third Container were to be donated to schools He allegedly threatened to organise a demonstration To get them released. Alex then got annoyed and said He could not understand how Kenya could achieve economic Development when it was turning away aid, he added.

There was further controversy when it emerged that though the Contents of the container had been declared as assorted electronic Goods, it was found to contain three mattresses in addition to the goods when it was opened

The container was being handled By clearing and forwarding firm MarketingBureau Services, whose directors were named as Eunice Munyoki, Jane Munyoki and James Kitonga. while the company secretary is Edward Gachau Kariuki.

Moranga told the commission the firm's personal identification number (PIN) had been suspended while some of its officials had been asked to report to police every week as investigation continued.

According to the Gazzette notice, Signed by G.N M'Mwendwa. For the Commissioner of Customs, The goods belonged to Kensington Holdings and Brotherlink International, another company associated with the Artur brothers.

It Wall not clear yesterday whether they are the same containers that were the subject of the Kiiuki inquiry and whether the two imported by Brotherlink were the ones reported to have gone missing.

Efforts to contact M’Mwendwa for a comment yesterday were fruitless

The Artur brothers were deported from the country After causing a security scare at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport in June last year.

It was after the embarrassing incident That President Kibaki appointed a commission of inquiry To investigate their activities in the country and suspended several top government officials, including then Criminal Investigations Department (CID) director Joseph Kamau, who were alleged, to have been associated with the two.

However, the government later declined to release the com- mission's report citing national security considerations amid claims that doing so would have impacted negatively on senior personalities. Kamau has, however, since retired from the civil service while the fate of the other suspended civil servants remains unknown.

Though the Artur brothers claimed they were international businessmen involved in estate and car and electronic goods imports, there were allegations that they were involved shady dealings including drug trafficking.

After being deported from Kenya, the Armenian brothers also claimed that some politicians attempted to hire them to assassinate their rivals.

We established yesterday that at least six top-of-the-range vehicles impounded from the Arturs' luxury residence in Nairobi's Runda estate remain parked at The motor vehicle yard in Gigiri police station to date.

But it is unclear what happened to the millions of shillings both in local and foreign currency recovered from the Runda house. It is also not clear what happened to expensive furniture recovered from the house.