The Anchor June- July- Main Story

America’s ultimatum to MP is…

A noose for Mwau

John Harun Mwau: Denies he's Kingpin

JOHN Harun Mwau  has a fully fledged war ahead of him. The Kilome Member of Parliament and aspiring Senator of Makueni county may well kiss away any aspirations he has in politics as long as the tag of a global drug kingpin hangs around his bushy neck.

Much as he has denied his alleged drug baron status, the American Government has wrenched him back into the murky waters with an unflattering assertion that the MP is the helmsman in drug trafficking, not just in Kenya but indeed the region.

United States said it has enough evidence that Kilome MP John Harun Mwau was a direct beneficiary of the 1.2 tonnes of cocaine, with a street value of Sh7 billion, that was intercepted in Malindi in 2004. Adam Szubin, the director of Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) of the US Department of the Treasury, said Mr Mwau imported drugs and protected drug traffickers.

Early this month, the US government announced it had frozen assets in the US belonging to Mr Mwau and another Kenyan known as Naima Mohamed Nyakiniywa or Mama Lela.

The department said companies where either of the suspects does not have more than 50 per cent ownership will not be directly affected by the sanctions. However, the department will advise on how to deal with companies where the kingpins may have minority stake.

According to police records, Mr Mwau owns companies like Nakumatt Holdings, Mwundo Ltd, Africa Centre for Hope Initiative Everywhere, Harun International Ltd, JH City Ltd, Preme Ltd, JN Records Ltd, Pepe Enterprises Ltd, Sheltown Ltd, Sports Champions Ltd, Tom Brown Ltd, Vitu Ltd and Kuston Kenya Ltd.

Mwau shot to national limelight as a police marksman and is fabled for his sharp aim with a gun. He attributes his fabulous wealth to hard work and very few people can exactly say how he build up his riches. Probably one of his establishments that leaves raises suspicion is his Inland container Depot, which handles cargo on exclusive basis.

Mwau’s  alleged link with the drug world first surfaced in Parliament in a statement read by Internal Security Minister George Saitoti, along with MPs Mike Sonko, William Kabogo, Hassan Joho and Simon Mbugua. Saitoti did not name a prominent woman associated with a leading political family but there weree attempts by an MP to name the woman in the house in a ploy to have the powers that be intervene and halt the matter altogether.

Mwau has however been cleared by the Kenya Police of any indulgence in the drugs world- but the clearance by the police means nothing in the face of a discredited force which is known to owe its allegiance to graft networks.

It is this misplaced allegiance that has led to the much demanded reform plan. So wanting is the force’s performance that Kenya is ranked 10 in the list of Failed States. In respect of Mwau, his fate now lies in the ultimatum he was given by the US- to own up to drug trafficking and face the prospects of amnesty.

Observers see this call to own up to being as good as being given a long rope to hung himself. For in as much as he has denied peddling drugs and demanded protection from the police- which was his for the asking anyway- Mwau is unlikely to admit he knows what cocaine looks like even if he draws a livelihood from it.

Just incase he does it, Mwau will have committed suicide- both socially, politically and economically. The options open to him now is to dig in and mount a defense to his remaining image as he tries to build another image of a hard working businessman.

As for his politics, given the mood of vetting those seeking political office, Mwau may have to decide if at all he has any stamina left to be scrutinized by bodies expected to be established to ensure integrity in those who seek public office.

In the Ukambani scene where he is likely to seek dominance, Mwau still has unfinished business with a coterie of civic leaders he gave a false promise of a trip to Dubai in an attempt to cut Vice President Kalonzo Musyoka to size.

In Makueni County where he says he seeks to be senator, Kaiti MP Gedion Ndambuki is reported to be laughing himself hoarse in the wake of the woes that Mwau is faced with.

Matters may not be as easy for him in Kilome incase he finds the senator’s seat too hot to seek. For there is hue and cry in Kilome due his chronic absenteeism in the constituency, where he has left aides to transact CDF and political activities on his behalf in a clearly unprecedented fashion.