Kalonzo Musyoka blames Uhuru allies for NGO woes
National Super Alliance leader Kalonzo Musyoka during media briefings at his office in Nairobi on May 3, 2017 where he accused some leaders in the government for the suspension of operations of the Kalonzo Musyoka Foundations by freezing its accounts. PHOTO | JEFF ANGOTE | NATION MEDIA GROUP
What you need to know:
- He described as “victimisation and political persecution” the move by Mr Fazul Mahamed to accuse him of a crime for which he could be fined Sh5 million and the foundation Sh25 million if found guilty.
- Kalonzo said people close to President Uhuru Kenyatta were behind his woes and specifically named Deputy President William Ruto, whom he said had a vendetta against him.
- But Mr Ruto, through his Communication Secretary David Mugonyi, dismissed the allegations.
Nasa co-principal Kalonzo Musyoka has blamed Jubilee for the freezing of his foundation’s bank accounts, saying it marked the beginning of the party’s scheme to run a dirty campaign against members of the opposition alliance.
Mr Musyoka, who is ODM leader Raila Odinga’s running mate in the National Super Alliance line-up, charged that the decision by the NGO Co-ordination Board to accuse him of money laundering and threaten to deregister the Kalonzo Musyoka Foundation was driven by the ruling party’s fear of defeat at the hands of the alliance in the August elections.
“At least they have started with me on something that is totally not there. I am sure they will soon dig up things about my brothers Raila Odinga and Musalia Mudavadi (designate premier cabinet secretary) because they know we will send them home in the coming elections,” he said.
He described as “victimisation and political persecution” the move by Mr Fazul Mahamed, the board’s executive director, to accuse him of a crime for which he could be fined Sh5 million and the foundation Sh25 million if found guilty.
VENDETTA AGAINST HIM
The Wiper leader said people close to President Uhuru Kenyatta were behind his woes and specifically named Deputy President William Ruto, whom he said had a vendetta against him.
“We know people who are driven by vendetta and it is Number Two and his people. They are lying to people that Kalonzo got money to help get Ukambani under Jubilee but he did not, hoping to get votes,” he told journalists at the Watermark, Karen, suggesting he was being targeted because he had chosen to stick with Nasa.
But Mr Ruto, through his Communication Secretary David Mugonyi, dismissed the allegations.
“We understand Kalonzo Musyoka’s political frustrations, but he should leave the Deputy President out of it. The Deputy President is too busy to waste time on such things. However, we know Musyoka’s statement is meant to serve some political interest,” Mr Mugonyi said in a statement.
“He should respond to specific questions irrespective of who is asking and stop looking for scapegoats. Accountability is not a choice. Musyoka owes it to Kenyans and his donors,” he added.
ACCOUNTS FROZEN
The Kalonzo Musyoka Foundation had its accounts frozen by the NGO Board on Tuesday over allegations that it could not account for Sh146 million, and had received Sh50 million from China that could not be traced.
On President Kenyatta, he remarked: “I am not exonerating him, but I would be very surprised, if he had anything to do with this. If he would besmirch a family.”
His son, Kennedy Musyoka, the foundation’s secretary-general, was at the press conference — a man Mr Musyoka said had been, together with the Nasa leader’s wife Pauline, “deeply hurt by this”.
Asked why he thought the people he had named had picked on him, he said: “They are coming for my colleagues too. If this is what they can do, Raila and the rest should wait. Theirs is coming.”
He questioned why the NGO Board was raising accountability questions in his foundation, after it had given it a clean bill of health on April 10, adding that he had not been served with the Tuesday letter.
NOT SHAKEN
“What is it that happened between April 10, when we were compliant and May 2, when this letter I have not seen, that is all over the media, was written?” he asked and suggested that it came only a week after he was named Mr Odinga’s running mate to take on President Kenyatta and his Deputy William Ruto in the coming General Election.
“But we are not shaken. Our resolve will not falter, even with the threat of being jailed for alleged money laundering,” he said, adding that the foundation has so far supported 2,000 students in their studies and flown many others to Cyprus for university education.
On the Sh50 million from China that the board said was untraceable, Mr Musyoka said the company, China Youth Development Foundation had issued a dummy cheque but had provided all the materials for the building of four schools.
“Mr Mohamed has no powers to freeze accounts without a court order. I am waiting for the letter he has littered all over. He should resign and avoid being used for political reasons,” he said.
LET THEM PROVE IT
The foundation had only $3,000 (about Sh300,000) in its account.
“The Sh196 million being quoted is ridiculous. We have no such money. And if they have evidence, let them prove it. Better yet, let them come arrest me now,” he remarked.
In the April 10 letter, which he showed journalists, Mr Mahamed had asked the foundation to provide a list of accounts, their signatories and minutes approving the opening of the foundation, bank statements between January 1 and February 28, and funding agreements for projects between January 2010 and February 2017.
The letter also asked for submissions from his auditor, clarifying discrepancies in the accounts from December 2010-2015.
“We therefore inform you that the Kalonzo Musyoka Foundation is now compliant with the NGOs coordination Act, the attendant regulations and terms and conditions of registration,” reads the conclusion of the letter.
On Wednesday, Mr Musyoka described the move by the NGO board as an attack on his family. “When you attack the family, it doesn’t look good. It is hitting below the belt,” he added.
