Anglo Leasing file is inconclusive, says former auditor

A former auditor-general on Monday told a court that a report relating to one of the Anglo Leasing contracts was inconclusive.

Mr Evans Mwai denied he was under pressure from a State official to file the report in order to delay payments to foreign firms named in the deal.

Mr Mwai, who headed a five-man team tasked with unravelling the mystery, admitted that his report raised more questions than answers.

During cross examination by Mr Ahmednasir Abdullahi, he conceded that despite being the auditor-general, he was not an accountant but a Geography graduate.

He denied that his report may have led to errors relating to his findings.

Mr Abdullahi said Mr Mwai served in a sensitive office without the necessary qualification and was not independent while drafting the report.

“They were doing you favours having you in a job you were not qualified for and you were acting under pressure from PS Joseph Kinyua to delay payments to the firm,” said the lawyer.

Mr Mwai said additional information in his findings was provided by other agencies such as the office of the PS and governance and ethics but they did not attempt to interview or contact suppliers and credit providers.

He said approvals of the contracts involving the financing agreement for the computerisation of police security systems project was authorised by then Finance minister David Mwiraria, who instructed the PS Joseph Magari to sign.

Lawyers representing Mr Mwiraria, Mr Magari, Mr Dave Mwangi, Mr David Onyonka, Infotalent Ltd and businessmen Rashmi Kamani and Deepak Kamani said the approvals were as required by law and that money paid to the company was refunded with an excess profit windfall arising from the difference in the foreign exchange rate at the time.