Karua: Sh2m was donation for polls drive

Narc Kenya leader Martha Karua addresses journalists at the party offices in Nairobi on December 21, 2015. A top KRA director on January 12, 2016 to fend off allegations she received Sh2 million bribe on behalf of Ms Karua. PHOTO | GERALD ANDERSON | NATION MEDIA GROUP

What you need to know:

  • Addressing the press at her party’s offices in Nairobi on Monday afternoon, the one-time Justice minister in the former ruling coalition said it was normal for her to meet individual contributors and thank them.
  • She also denied receiving the claimed amount and a car, insisting that she only got Sh2 million from him towards the end of 2012.
  • Ms Karua, who was accompanied by her lawyer Gitobu Imanyara, defended herself saying she did not receive any bribe and was ready to be investigated by UK’s Serious Fraud Office and local authorities.

Narc-Kenya leader Martha Karua on Monday fought back against bribery claims threatening to strangle her political career.

Ms Karua, who hitherto has had a reputation as a clean public servant, admitted that she received Sh2 million shillings from Mr Paul Hopkins, a dirty jobs man from BAT, the tobacco company.

She also said she met Mr Hopkins to thank him for the money, given in late 2012, which she said was not a bribe but a contribution to her presidential campaign.

The Independent, a respected British newspaper, reported that Mr Hopkins paid Ms Karua £50,000 (Sh7.5 million) to gain access to confidential documents relating to an anti-tobacco smuggling tender.

After the payment, the paper claimed, BAT was given the tender documents and was able to manipulate, delay and influence the tendering.

Mr Hopkins, a former special forces soldier in the Irish army who worked in Kenya for many years, was a bag man for the British tobacco company and says he carried out on its behalf a large scale campaign of bribery to protect the company against health regulations and to sabotage competitors.

The company has denied wrongdoing.

MET BRIEFLY

Speaking at her party offices in Hurlingham, Nairobi, Ms Karua, a former Justice minister in the grand coalition government, said she met Mr Hopkins briefly to thank him for his donation. She said he introduced himself as a businessman. She said it was normal for her to meet and personally thank donors.

The Serious Fraud Office, the UK police unit which deals with corruption cases, is already investigating the claims against BAT.

Ms Karua ran on anti-corruption platform and it was not clear whether her campaign made any effort to vet the people from whom it accepted money.

Yesterday, KRA Commissioner General John Njiraini distanced the revenue-collector from the bribery scandal.

“BAT Kenya, as an entity, has not tendered for the supply of Excise Tax Stamps, in any of the tenders floated by KRA in the past.  Additionally, KRA is not aware whether BAT supported any of the past bids presented by participating companies,” said Mr Njiraini in a statement.

Yesterday, Ms Karua said it was normal for presidential candidates to raise funds through public drives.

“In our campaign we received numerous individual donations the vast majority from ordinary Kenyans. We also received some sizeable donations from individual contributors and in those instances I would meet and thank individuals personally. As I indicated Paul Hopkins gave a donation of Sh2 million to my campaign. I was informed of his donation and we had a brief meeting where I thanked him for his donation,” said Ms Karua.

BRIBED POLITICIANS

Mr Hopkins worked for BAT in Africa for 13 years and has admitted paying bribes to politicians on behalf of his employer, not just in Kenya but in the whole region.

According to the Independent, Ms Karua was allegedly paid Sh7.5 million to block a rival firm from winning a multi-million-pound contract, the sum and intent of which she has disputed.

The money was allegedly paid to Ms Karua through her aide Mary M’Mukindia, currently a board member of KRA. Ms M’Mukindia was then a campaign adviser and fundraiser for Ms Karua’s unsuccessful presidential bid in 2013.

Ms Karua, who was accompanied by her lawyer Gitobu Imanyara, defended herself saying she did not receive any bribe and was ready to be investigated by UK’s Serious Fraud Office and local authorities.

“I personally welcome investigations into BAT illegal activities by SFO and local authorities. I will cooperate fully with all investigations whether locally or abroad. I have nothing to hide,” she said.

Mr Imanayara said they were planning to sue the newspaper for failing to carry Ms Karua response despite her willingness to give her side of the story.

“The journalist did not wait for the answers to the set of questions they gave us. I undertook that the questions would be answered that evening or the following morning. What surprised us is immediately they ran the story without the answers they had asked for. This raises the query about the motivation and conduct of a professional journalist of a leading British newspaper,” said Mr Imanyara.

DENIED ALLEGATIONS

Ms Karua is the second politician to be linked to the BAT bribery scam after Bungoma Senator Moses Wetang'ula was accused of being a beneficiary of the cigarette manufacturer bribes in 2012. Mr Wetang'ula has denied the allegations in a BBC Panorama programme.

Mr Njiraini said he was not aware of any attempts by the cigarette manufacturer to influence tendering in the organisation. “KRA is not aware of any attempts made by BAT to influence past tendering processes for Excise Tax Stamps.  As with all our processes, the tenders for Excise Tax Stamps have been openly competitive and the winning tenderer selected transparently, on the basis of published specifications,” he added.

Ms Karua, however, asked for the release of the lifestyle audit on KRA employees following the accusations, saying it was important to know if they eventually got the software whose acquisition BAT is said to have wanted to influence.

She also asked for an investigation into BAT’s activities in the country during the election period, saying the company had a keen interest in the polls.

“As Kenyans we must ask what was the full extent of BAT donations in the 2013 General Election and to which parties or persons as they evidently were an active campaign contributor,” she said.

The former powerful minister in former President Kibaki’s government dismissed claims by a section of Jubilee MPs who have called on her to come clean on the bribery claims.

KRA said it had contacted the SFO and Mr Hopkins for more information.