Former BAT lobbyist Adell-Owino denies bribery claim
Former BAT lobbyist Ms Julie Adell-Owino (centre) with Council of Governors chair Governor Peter Munya (right), and Kiambu Deputy-Governor Gerald Githinji in a past function. PHOTO | SALATON NJAU | NATION MEDIA GROUP
What you need to know:
Ms Julie Adell-Owino admitted that she was contacted by the British broadcaster over the claims but refused to comment as she did not get the opportunity to verify them.
She resigned from EABL on Tuesday as corporate affairs executive after the allegations.
Parties accused of offering bribes to state officials and politicians by a BBC documentary Panorama have turned focus on the whistle-blowers to discredit the report.
British American Tobacco, accused of handing bribes of up to $26,000 (Sh2.6 million) to public officials in Rwanda, Burundi and the Comoros Islands in 2012, denied the claims saying they were made by an embittered former worker.
The British broadcaster said the bribery claim was made by a former employee, Paul Hopkins, who was based in Kenya and worked for the tobacco giant for 13 years.
The BAT lobbyist mentioned in the scandal, Ms Julie Adell-Owino, also cast doubt on the veracity of the investigations, saying she was implicated based on emails that could not be verified.
RESIGNATION
Ms Adell, who resigned from East Africa Breweries Limited on Tuesday as corporate affairs executive after the allegations, said Mr Hopkins and Mr Solomon Muyita had cases against BAT and should not have been relied on.
“The BBC ought to have questioned this in the light of the fact that Mr Hopkins lost the case he had brought against BAT in the UK and Mr Muyita’s is ongoing,” she wrote in a response to newsrooms.
She admitted that she was contacted by the British broadcaster over the claims but refused to comment as she did not get the opportunity to verify them.
“Anybody can fabricate an email address and create correspondence from it to frame the narrative he or she is seeking to present,” she said.
Ms Adell also poked holes into the timing of the alleged bribery, saying that she had already left the company in 2012.
She left BAT in September 2012 where she was head of corporate and regulatory affairs.
“I have seen allegations to the effect that I requested and/or authorised the procurement of an air ticket for Senator Wetang’ula’s wife. I had no part in authorising payments and was no longer in employment at BAT. I cannot offer comment on any of the said payments,” she added.
MS Adell exits from EABL just five months after joining the company.
She previously worked at Kenya Wildlife Service, PricewaterhouseCoopers and Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission.
BAT said it was committed to action, stating on its website on Tuesday that any breach of its expectations of transparency and honesty would be investigated.
It said any proven transgression usually resulted in disciplinary action and could lead to dismissal.
