Raila PS Name Comes in Maize Business

THE name of the Permanent Secretary in Prime Minister Raila Odinga's office has appeared in documents filed in Parliament showing that a company of which he is a director bought 10,000 bags of maize from National Cereals and Produce Board.

The names of the directors were found in documents filed by MP Ababu Namwamba in Parliament last week to show who was behind the recipients of maize from NCPB in a list filed by Agriculute minister William Ruto in Parliament last month.

Interglobal Logistics bought the maize in Augiust 2008 according Ruto's documents. And according to Namwamba's documents, Interglobal's directors include Mohammed Abdi Isahakia, Permanent Secretary in the Office of the Prime Minister, along with with former Fafi MP Elias Barre Shill.

Curiously Ruto appointed Shill to the new NCPB board in January.

Interglobal Logistics, whose offices are on Tom Mboya Street, was registered on July 7, 2004. The other directors are Ndaruzi Dezire, Amos Matendechere and Franklin Were.

According to the parliamentary documents, Interglobal Logistics paid Sh 19 million for 10,000 bags of maize on 8 August, 2008. Interglobal was then issued with the first 5,000 bags at Kilgoris NCPB depot before collecting the reminder at the Embu depot. The price per bag was Sh 1910.

Last night, Isahakia said he was puzzled that his name was being dragged into the ongoing maize deals. He said he was aware that Barre Shill was associated with Interglobal but said he was not a director.

"This is a campaign to be-smirch the PM's office. I have nothing to do with the company. I am not aware of the maize purchases. I have nothing to do with the transactions. My record has always been straight from the days when I was at the National Museums of Kenya. These are just the politics of maize. There is conflict within ODM. People are fighting each other and they want to drag me into it," Isahakia said.

The spokesman of the PM's Office, Dennis Onyango, merely said: "The position of this office is that the PM has initiated the process for a forensic audit of transactions at NCPB. We will let that process take off sand run its course. The findings and recommendations of that audit will be effected unsparingly."

Many prominent politicians collected maize from NCPB at preferential prices last year.

Yesterday Budalangi MP Ababu Namwamba repeated in the Standard newspaper that Gingalili was on Ruto's list of companies receiving maize from NCPB and that Lucy Kibaki was a director. Gingalili was listed as receiving 500 bags of maize on 22 October. The company file of Gingalili is presently missing so it is impossible to confirm whether Lucy is a director. Namwamba denied that he had apologised to the First Lady last week.

Other companies mentioned in the documents include Mafuta Farm Limited owned by Rift Valley politician Jackson Kiprotich Kibor along with director Eunitah Jelimo Kibora and company secretary Paul Nguta. Mafuta farm bought 130,000 bags of maize between April and June last year.

Many MPs solicited for maize by writing letters to the NCPB among them Gitobu Imanyara, Boaz Kaino, Maison Leshoomo, Emilio Kathuri, Joseph Lekuton, Amina Abdalla (nominated) and Pollyins Ochieng.

Letters were also written to the NCPB by Cabinet ministers Mohamed Kuti, Mohamed Elmi and assistant ministers Njeru Githae and Dr. Kilemi Mwiria.

However the ministers and MPs mostly said they were not writing for personal benefit but merely to assists their consitutents.

Local Government assistant minister Njeru Githae and Chepalungu MP Isaac Ruto yesterday yesterday admitted that they wrote notes to NCPB to influence maize allocation.

Githae admitted that he wrote a note requesting NCPB to allocate Roskin Millers which is owned by his predecessor Kinyua Mbui.

He said the note was written after the former MP sought his help just before the firm collapsed with the loss of over 100 jobs.

Ruto said he wrote to NCPB to liaise with the District Development Committee to ensure the maize reaches the most deserving locals. He criticised KACC for interviewing him over his letters.

Pollyins Ochieng however distanced himself from the NCPB saga saying that his signature and parliamentary letter head had been forged.

Yesterday, MP Ephraim Maina sought a ministerial statement on the fate of the subsidized maize programme which was launched by the government targeting low income earners. The Agriculture ministry will issue the statement next Wednesday.