High-profile witnesses in Obure’s Sh928m case

Amani National Congress leader Musalia Mudavadi has been summoned to testify in the Sh928 million Anglo Leasing case against Kisii Senator Chris Obure.

Besides Mr Mudavadi, other high-ranking witnesses lined up to testify against Mr Obure are the former attorney-general and Busia Senator Amos Wako and former deputy governor of the Central Bank of Kenya, Ms Jacinta Mwatela.

An assistant director of public prosecutions, Mr James Warui Mungai, on Friday asked the investigating officer to issue summons to Mr Mudavadi to appear in court on September 20 to testify against Mr Obure.

Mr Obure has been charged alongside former Information PS Sammy Kyungu, former Post-Master General Francis Chahonyo and Mr Samuel Bundotich.

They are charged with abuse of office over a contract signed between the government and three US companies to supply internet services in 2003.

Mr Mudavadi is represented in the case by veteran lawyer Fred Ojiambo.

The contract, which Mr Obure is accused of authorising to be signed between the government and Spacenet Corporation, among others, was worth $11.8 million (Sh928 million).

Magistrate Alice Mwangi heard Friday that the Postal Corporation of Kenya declined to pay the US companies saying “It was not involved in signing the contract to supply internet services to rural areas through the established post offices”.

A former post-master general, Mr Ken Oluoch, said the US firms had contracted another company, which had established the internet hub at Westlands, Nairobi.

“The private company outsourced by the US companies was suppling the internet services to Posta,” said Mr Oluoch.

Led in his evidence-in-chief by Mr Mungai and cross-examined by two defence lawyers Kioko Kilukumi and Chacha Odera for the accused, Mr Oluoch said there was “a sharp dispute between postal corporation and government ministries over who should pay for the communication equipment and for internet services supplied”.

Mr Oluoch said the postal corporation held meetings with the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Information over who should pay for the services.

He said the nerve centre of the internet was being controlled by a private company instead of postal corporation, which was the consumer.

Mr Oluoch said some of the equipment supplied by the US companies, Spacenet, Universal Satspace North America, LLC Joint Venture and First Merchantile Securities Corporation, were lying unutilised at the postal corporation warehouses.

“I was called sometime back by former PS Information Bitange Ndemo to tell me the internet services were discontinued since postal corporation had not paid for the bundles,” Mr Oluoch said adding that “The postal corporation was getting a lot of competition from private internet providers”.