So who stole
farmers' millions?
By Martin Masai
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| Mr Kilonzo(L) and Mr Kanyi during the trial. |
The Anchor told you. What seemed like a criminal case against two directors of Malili Ranch was just a ploy to have thieves steal from Malili farmers.Now Nairobi Chief Magistrate Gilbert Mutembei has confirmed just that and set the two directors- Peter Mutua Kanyi and Julius Kilonzo free. It now turns out that the money they were accused of stealing was the cumulative figure of the amounts they received after the sale of plots they bought from farmers and sold to the government, making handsome profits in the process.
But what the police ignored to investigate was why the fellows who took over the ranch deducted some Sh 300,000 from poor farmers who had not been paid for their land and who actually benefitted from the theft.
In discharging the pair, Mutembei ordered that the proceedings be placed before the Commissioner of Police to take action against policemen who handled the case. As things stand now, it is not difficult to round up the thieves. All police need to do is to round up the leaders of Malili and extract facts on how Malili money was routed. They will also need to speak to Lawyer Kamotho Waiganjo- who is on record saying he returned Malili millions to avoid soiling his hands. Whose cash is this that he was handling and to whom did he return the cash?
Kamotho Waiganjo sits conspicuously in the Constitution of Kenya Implementation Committee and it is unclear if he ever explained his dalliance with millions belonging to the poor farmers in Malili.
The Anchor has previously indicated that some key Kamba politicians, including not less that four well placed MPs played a key role in the theft of not less that Sh200m from poor farmers of Malili.
Facts and Figures
With the outcome of the criminal case, officials and politicians will pocket not less than Sh 300m in total from pilfering with payments meant to buy 5,000 acres of land from poor Malili farmers.
In effect, the tricksters will have stolen from the common man and not the government, hence the indifference that the State is showing in pursuing thieves taking advantage of uninformed villagers.
And it is no secret. Police admitted in court that they were manipulated to the extend that they charged Kanyi and Kilonzo even when they could see there was no evidence for the charge they faced. The case was a red herring, to allow the thieves walk out clean.
As things stand now, the outcome of investigations by the Kenya National Audit Office (KENAO) into the matter remain unknown.
Based simple calculations, 112 out of 609 farmers were paid Sh 1.4 for each of their parcel of land measuring 7.8 acres by the Kanyi group.
This translates to Sh 156.8 million out of the first instalment of Sh 400m that the government paid to Malili Lawyer Mr Eric Mutua. It means that by the time Kangundo MP Johnson Muthama entered the fray and caused the removal of Malili Chairman and Treasurer Peter Kanyi and Julius Kilonzo respectively, Sh 243.2m was yet to be paid out to members.
After David Ndolo Ngilai became the chairman, a new resolution to pay farmers Sh 1.1m per parcel was made, deducting a good Sh 300,000. It means that Mr Ngilai and his team needed to pay the remaining 497 members at the new rate. Simple calculations show the farmers would share out Sh 546.7m. This figure, put together with Sh 156.8 paid out by the Kanyi group shows that farmers will took Sh 703.5m from the Sh 1b that the State paid for the entire 5,000 acres.
The 609 beneficiaries of Malili own 7.8 acres of land each, meaning that the total acreage they sold to the State was 4,750. The entire area had been planned complete with roads and public utilities that make up over 250 acres, to bring together the entire land that the ministry of information wanted to construct what is being known as the Malili Technopolis. Multiplied with Sh 200,000, the rate at which the State was paying for the land per acre, it means that ranch leaders had a clear surplus of over Sh 50m.
It must be stressed that Malili leaders had decided to commit the proceeds of decimal 8 area of the 7.8 acres for purposes of compensation and administrative costs. So out of the 609 parcels/members, the .8 area makes up a cumulative figure of 487 acres- which translates to Sh 97.4m.
It is highly doubtful that amount was used for such purposes, but the fact that members seemed agreed to commit that money for the purpose, it is better not to pursue the matter. If all 609 members were paid Sh 1.4m, they would have received a total of Sh Sh852.6m.
Our investigations therefore show that by underpaying the 497 members, Malili leaders and their handlers saved Sh 139.7m. Put together with Sh 50m that make up roads and public utilities, it shows Sh 189.7m may have been shared out by Malili players.
Our sources also established that Gateway Logistics, a company that claims a hand in identifying buyers for the land may have legitimate claim of Sh 100m, of which only Sh 40m was paid. It was in the pursuit of payment of their balance that Kangundo MP Johnson Muthama got into the picture and assured gateway that he would push to ensure that they were paid.
The theft case begun faltering when current Malili directors wrote a letter that exonerated Kanyi and Kilonzo from stealing and the prosecution has been wobbling all the way, with Director of Public Prosecution Keriako Tobiko at one time seeking to unsuccessfully halt the trial.
There were attempts to influence the magistrate to rule in one way or another, showing that the curt case may just be part of the drama unfolding over Malili. But Mutembei cautioned shareholders who he said have been writing letters to him trying to influence the case. “You are wasting your time writing many letters to me. I will not be influenced by you. You think it is like when you write letters to headmasters while talking over tea in the bush and influence them, this is a court of law and that is not how we conduct our businesses here.
Politicians and Malili directors justify the current reduced payments by saying that it is because some money was allegedly stolen by Mr Kanyi and Mr Kilonzo.True, Kanyi, Kilonzo and the late Josiah Munuka and a Machakos Lawyer Mr Bernard Mungatta were paid hefty sums of cash as a result of many plots they had bought at throw away prices and in turn sold them to the government at high prices.
Now strange hands are clearly visible, dipped in a resource that belongs to the poor. Whose hands are these?
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