My brother President Uhuru Kenyatta, we are making this statement today, directed at you, in the spirit and on behalf of common citizens of the Republic of Kenya, in your capacity as the Chief Executive Officer of the country.
Over the past week, we have engaged not only the National Treasury but also written to some of the international partners who were involved in the floating of Eurobond by Kenya. Mr. President, you were the primary advocate of this Eurobond, ultimately worth US$2.75 billion in 2014.
You explained that we needed to pay off some Anglo Leasing suspects in order to open the path to acquisition of this debt in the international market. We had written requesting information because your Government’s own accounts demonstrate that at least US$1.4 billion (KSh.140 billion) remains unaccounted for of the Eurobond monies. This is a staggering amount.
Our repeated requests in good faith to the National Treasury asking for clarification with regard to these apparently missing monies have been met with a charade of sometimes contradictory statements by officials and accounts that still don’t add up.
None other than your Deputy President is suddenly declaring us as saboteurs just because we have sought the truth on behalf of Kenyans. The accounts still don’t balance despite all the apparently feverish massaging by civil servants and sections of your executive.
Indeed, the press statements issued have raised even more questions about the veracity of the Treasury’s accounting of how the entire Eurobond monies were handled. We are forced, like the majority of Kenyans, to conclude that this money – at the very least US$1.4 billion (KSh.140 billion)- is, to put it mildly, ‘missing’.
We would like to emphasise that this is not currently about catching culprits but about Kenya’s place as a serious member of the community of nations, able to transact economically in a manner that benefits its citizens while meeting global expectations and standards.
We caution that failure to ‘ find ‘ this money will do very serious damage to our international creditworthiness. In fact, we may have difficulties borrowing again as investors know that any borrower, individual, business, or country that is this financially irresponsible will default sooner or later.
While culpability in this matter will be discussed later, the onus is now on you as the President of this Republic of Kenya to deal directly with this unprecedented matter.
It has reached your office and you are duty bound to rise to the occasion and deal with it. This is what a country appoints a country picks a CEO for. Currently, that CEO is you. Our point is; we are now beyond the moment of public relations gimmicks like information desks at the Treasury for Kenyans to go and be fed the same cooked accounts that have been churned out by the Treasury over the past week.
We are aware that the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) is said to have already commenced investigations into the disappearance of the Eurobond monies. However, more urgent action is required at this moment. The missing resources constitute an enormous debt that Kenyans will have to pay.
Mr. President, we request you to take charge of tracing and recovering our Euro Bond money by urgently embarking on two things:
1. Expedite an independent forensic investigation – both local and international – into the management of the entire Eurobond acquisition and subsequent management of the funds process.
2. Initiate an international asset recovery process immediately to find the ‘missing’ funds. And this is not a task you should hand over to the institutions and bureaucrats who have failed catastrophically on this matter. You must tackle this matter yourself. The search for our stolen money must henceforth proceed under your personal direction to inspire confidence in Kenyans. As we have said already, this is no light matter.
The Kenyan people and their children will pay this debt. Let us work to find this money urgently for the good of the citizens of this great country.
Thank-you. Rt. HON RAILA ODINGA; EGH. DECEMBER 6, 2015. KISUMU.
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