The Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) is set to investigate ex-Standard Group journalist Mwaniki Munuhe whose rather quick rise to riches left many eyebrows raised.
Once a Standard Editorial Team staff member, Munuhe was named as one of the notorious deplorables involved in the 2015 Waiguru-led NYS Saga.
In an affidavit signed by fellow suspect Ms. Josephine Kabura, the then Devolution Cabinet Secretary Anne Waiguru is reported to have named Kamore as one of two ‘media gurus’ she used for propaganda, the other being Standard’s Munuhe Mwaniki.
Kabura adds that during one occasion, she met the two journalists and delivered Ksh. 10 million from Waiguru to Munuhe.
After the scandal broke out, Munuhe was forced to draft a resignation letter by his employer and most news stories implicating him in the scam mysteriously disappeared with a little help from his financial muscle.
Reports claim that Mwaniki bought four houses in Kencom Estate next to Brookhouse Runda Campus at Ksh. 37 million each; money which was paid in cash.
“He also owns three blocks of apartments in Thindigua also bought cash. He also owns Dove Cage Hotel on Mokhtar Dada street, Mercury Lounge in ABC Place Westlands, and currently developing a Ksh. 800 million hotel in Rumuruti where he comes from. The contractor on site for the hotel Chinese construction company known as Hunan Contractors,” reads the letter in part.
The affidavit also alleges that he owns brand new 2018 showroom cars; Porsche Cayenne, Land Rover Discovery, Jaguar, Mercedes 5500, BMW 5 series, Ford Sedan and a Mercedes E250.
Mwaniki Munuhe is said to be Transport CS Macharia’s proxy for all the big tenders such as the Nakuru Mau Summit road worth Ksh. 160 billion won by a French consortium. Mwaniki was in France late last year and this year twice because of that tender.
Muhuhe is also said to be the proxy for CS Macharia in the proposed Nairobi expressway road being done by CRBC.
In collaboration with his father, Muhune fraudulently obtained share on the Kedong Ranching Land owned by Muhatetu farmers where his father is a board member.
It is understood that the two are planning to mint not less than Ksh. 6 billion from the Nairobi-Naivasha SGR compensation, while the shareholders of Muhatetu farmers have only been promised Ksh. 1 billion which they don’t intend to pay anyway.
Muhatetu Farmers, mainly comprising Mau Mau descendants, are enraged at the decision to sell their 40.66 percent shares in the 75,000 acres ranch soon after it emerged that the standard gauge railway would be traversing the property.
“The bitter farmers accused their directors for having hatched a scheme to sell their shares at a paltry Ksh. 2.1 billion to a third party when it emerged that the planned Naivasha dry port was to be constructed on the same piece of land, sidelining them from a hefty compensation deal from the government,” notes the letter.
In a well planned scheme, shareholders from any annual general meetings for five straight years were first locked out then directors made the scheme to sell the shares and divided the members so skilfully that they could hardly unite to push back. For poor villagers in Nyahururu, cheques in the upwards of Ksh. 400,000 were god-sent. Oblivious to the fact that they were being fed remnants of the multi-billion deal.
Transaction details, according to the letter, also show that while Newell Holding Limited bought the shares on August 23, 2017, farmers started receiving cheques drawn on August 2, 2018. Meaning the money preceded the sales; another twist that makes the shareholders suspicious that the directors may have played a dirty trick on them.
“I know that shares for 2.4 billion for shares belonging to more than 1000+ members of Muhatetu farmers were sold. Mwaniki’s father is alleged to have stolen Ksh. 800 million of people’s money and bribed his way through the court cases filed by the members. Mwaniki’s father swindled poor farmers so that his son and his friends could benefit from government land compensation,” alleges the writer.
The anonymous writer adds that the shares sold at Ksh. 2.46 were worth Ksh. 8 billion and there was no AGM to approve the sale.
Mwaniki is said to be have offshore accounts in Dubai and Mauritius that Irene Nanayu, Macharia’s PA and Macharia’s supposed kickbacks recipient operates.
Bank details show that Vinci, China Communications Construction, CRBC and other Chinese Companies using proxies, have been making suspicious deposits to Mwaniki’s offshore accounts.
In addition, Mwaniki was involved in the botched mobile clinic project that was the Ksh. 5 billion Afya House scandal. The mobile clinics were imported by Estama Investment Limited owned by Njage Makanga, the husband to Irene who is CS Macharia’s PA. Macharia was the CS for Ministry of Health when this mobile clinics were procured and Mwaniki is the one who hides and invests kickback money for Irene, Macharia and Makanga, it is alleged.
“I also know of Mr Mwaniki’s fights at KPA over several tenders which I was involved with him directly. Mr Mwaniki scuttled most of the tenders and staged a fight for other multibillion shillings tenders at Kenya Ports Authority. Mwaniki is at the heart of the ongoing campaigns against the management. Losers in lucrative tenders cancelled over irregularities have since ganged up under his patronage in a vicious campaign through media outlets with the aim of bringing down the top management. He has paid over Ksh20 million to various media houses to stage this campaign,” the disgruntled Kenyan narrates.
Munuhe is said to have been involved in a bitter fallout with Nation journalist Kipchumba Some.
Mwaniki is also understood to be close to Director of Criminal Investigations George Kinoti and openly boasts to have influenced the appointment of Vincent Sidai to the position of general manager infrastructure and development at the port due to his connections with CS Macharia.
Sidai, according to the letter, parted with millions of shillings which he gave Munuhe and is now planning for Mr Sidai to take over the job of MD at KPA if he succeeds in removing Mr Daniel Manduku from office.
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