•Says flagrant violations exist in the deal sealed in the dying days of the Jubilee regime.
• The committee invites the EACC to establish if there was a conflict of interest on the part of the former officials.
Image: FILE
Top officials of former President Uhuru Kenyatta’s administration face fresh investigations over alleged irregularities in buyback of state-owned telco Telkom Kenya.
A National Assembly joint committee has invited the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission to conduct further investigations into the roles the officers may have played in the now-deemed irregular sale.
In a probe report tabled in Parliament on Tuesday, the joint committee of Finance and ICT of the National Assembly has invited the EACC to investigate whether there was conflict of interest on the part of the named persons.
“This committee recommends that the EACC undertake further investigation on all persons who facilitated the 100 per cent buyback of Telkom Kenya to ascertain whether they discharged their role in strict compliance with the law, and whether there was any conflict of interest on their part,” the committee said.
The committee, led by Molo MP Kuria Kimani and Dagoretti South MP John Kiarie, said it established that the Treasury initiated the buyback of Telkom before Cabinet approval.
The team indicated that the process began immediately it was approved by the National Security Council on April 1, 2022 and was approved by Cabinet on May 12, 2022.
It has also emerged that the officers involved defied an advisory of the Attorney General for prior approval of Cabinet and Telkom Kenya board of directors.
MPs established that the buyback was to be executed through a bond and not cash from the exchequer.
The report shows that it was to be funded through a three-year treasury bond and not exchequer as was the case.
Lawmakers also established that there was no record there was urgency on the part of Jamhuri Holdings Ltd to conclude the matter.
It also emerged that JHL, requested to offload its shares in Telkom way back in 2021, sparking concerns on why it took the government that long to act.
The report further details that JHL, which is wholly owned by Helios Investment Partners, is not registered in Kenya but is a limited liability company incorporated in Mauritius.
MPs also said they established that the buyback was not approved by the regulatory authorities, and that an advisory by the Competition Authority of Kenya was ignored.
“They buyback never received full approval by the regulatory authorities specifically the Communication Authority of Kenya gave conditional approval which was never met,” the committee said.
“The buyback of TKL by the GOK (government of Kenya) was ill-thought, ill-timed and, lacked the duty of care on the part of officials undertaking this transaction.”
MPs said “flagrant violations were demonstrated clearly when the National Treasury sought the approval of the Board of TKL after making payments to JHL and when the National Treasury purported to complete the transaction before securing a comprehensive legal opinion from the Attorney General and, fulfilling the conditions imposed by the Communications Authority.”
Lawmakers said the disbursement of the money under Article 233 of the constitution was not necessary as there was no emergency in settling the transaction at the time.
“Indeed, this calls into question the real motive for hurriedly trying to complete this transaction under the circumstances of a major transition of the government,” the committee said.
MPs also dismissed the assertion that the buyback was motivated by security concerns, saying it lacks independent merit.