Kabura denies recanting parts of NYS affidavit

Ms Josephine Kabura of the Sh791 million National Youth Service corruption scandal rejected reports that she had recanted parts of an affidavit implicating former Devolution Cabinet Secretary Anne Waiguru in corrupt deals.

Ms Kabura was responding to Monday night Twitter comments by Ms Waiguru’s lawyer, Mr Ahmednasir Abdullahi, that she had retracted her allegations.

Through her lawyer, Mr Samson Nyaberi, Ms Kabura said she would not be retracting any part of the 16-page document she filed two months ago before the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission.

Ms Kabura and her lawyer spoke outside Integrity Centre in Nairobi on Tuesday evening, shortly after emerging from a five-hour meeting with anti-graft agency detectives. The two remained guarded when asked about the nature of the meeting, only saying the visit was “routine”.

Mr Abdullahi caused an Internet storm when he tweeted that Ms Kabura had withdrawn “her damning affidavit”. The story had, within minutes, been picked by websites, which went on to claim that Mr Nyaberi, who drew up Ms Kabura’s affidavit, might have relied on an impersonator and not the businesswoman herself.

The stories also claimed that Ms Kabura had denied that anti-graft investigators ever met Mr Nyaberi, even though the two appeared together for the meeting on Tuesday.

EXPLOSIVE AFFIDAVIT

In her explosive affidavit, Ms Kabura accused Ms Waiguru of masterminding the Sh791 million theft at the youth agency. She said Ms Waiguru called her and several others for a meeting at her Runda home when the Central Bank of Kenya questioned the payments.

Among those who attended the meeting at Runda, Ms Kabura claimed, were political analyst Mutahi Ngunyi, who worked as a consultant for the NYS, Mr Hassan Noor, who was the chief of staff at the Devolution ministry, the agency’s deputy director-general at the time, Mr Aden Harakhe, and Mr Joseph Mugwanja, the director of the Banking Fraud Department, who was recently appointed CID boss at the airport police unit.

Mr Ngunyi has since denied that he was at the meeting.

Ms Waiguru has maintained her innocence and denied knowing Ms Kabura. The former CS and her lawyers have attacked the claims in the businesswoman’s affidavit. Withdrawal of any of the claims in the document would deal a major blow to Ms Kabura’s credibility.

Tuesday’s meeting came a few hours after the businesswoman’s lawyer withdrew an application in court seeking to stop his arrest in relation to the case.

Mr Nyaberi had filed a case against the anti-graft commission, the Inspector General of Police, Director of Public Prosecutions and the Attorney-General.

RECORDING STATEMENT

He wanted the anti-graft team barred from interviewing or recording a statement from him on the information he obtained from Mr Kabura in his capacity as an advocate, saying he should not be compelled to disclose the information by virtue of advocate-client relationship since it was confidential and privileged.

“Take notice that the application dated April 18, and filed on the same day is withdrawn with no orders as to cost,” read his notice of withdrawal.

In responding to Ms Kabura’s court papers, Ms Waiguru disowned her but at the same time also implicated National Assembly Majority Leader Aden Duale, Elgeyo-Marakwet Senator Kipchumba Murkomen and Deputy President William Ruto’s personal assistant, Mr Farouk Kibet, as politicians who tried to influence the payment of millions of shillings in fishy deals.

She also placed former Devolution Principal Secretary Peter Mangiti, the youth agency’s former Director-General Nelson Githinji and businessman Benson Gethi at the centre of the scam.

Reported by Ngare Kariuki, Vincent Agoya and Abiud Ochieng’