Former President Uhuru Kenyatta's ally John Ngumi was paid Sh400 million in five months in a controversial Sh6.09 billion Telkom Kenya deal.
The career banker earned the money for his advisory role between April and August 2022 in the government buyback transaction.
Ngumi told a joint sitting of the Departmental Committee on Finance and National Planning and the Departmental Committee on Communication Information and Innovation he was paid the money by Jamhuri Holdings, which was exiting Telkom Kenya.
The government paid Sh6.09 billion to acquire a 60 per cent stake in Telkom Kenya from a UK-based private equity fund, just four days before last year’s general election.
Ngumi said he was appointed advisor by Jamhuri Holdings on April 1. At the time, he still served as Helios strategic advisor for Kenya and Africa.
The National Treasury withdrew Sh6.09 billion on August 5, 2022, and paid Jamhuri Holdings Limited, a Mauritius-based subsidiary of Helios in a transaction that lacked parliamentary approval.
MPs, however, wondered why Ngumi was paid a huge amount for work done in just five months, making him the single biggest individual beneficiary of the deal.
“The deal had to have the highest level possible of advice in order not to make mistakes. Therefore, they had to get out there and get someone who is the best in the business,” Ngumi said.
“I was paid that money because I am the best in the business,” he stated.
Ngumi said his roles included supporting engagements with other parties overseeing the structure of the transaction and successful closure of the deal.
On February 14, 2023, Controller of Budget Margaret Nyakangó told legislators the National Treasury overruled her in the transaction.
The CoB must approve the withdrawal of cash from the government’s main accounts and has powers to block access to funds suspected to breach the law.
Nyakan’go refused to authorise the withdrawal of the billions to buy out Helios Investment Partners in Telkom Kenya in a deal that made the company fully state-owned.
On April 5, 2023, former National Treasury PS Julius Muia told MPs the deal was lawful.
“The National Treasury complied with all requirements. The payment was lawful and it was in the interest of the Kenyan people,” he said.
On Wednesday, Ngumi told the committee he had 35 years of experience and was entitled to such payment.
“I had already helped Helios revive a company that was on its deathbed called Mwananchi,” he explained.
“It was not me imposing a fee. It was me telling them.”
Even with the explanation, Departmental Committee on Finance and National Planning chair Francis Kimani said he was struggling to understand the advice Ngumi gave Jamhuri Holdings to warrant such payment.
“You became the single highest beneficiary of the deal,” he stated.