Corruption Scandal Rocks Kenya, Irks West

NAIROBI - Kenya 's former anti-corruption chief says he has "incontrovertible" proof government ministers were caught up in a multimillion-dollar scam that has heightened Western donor disillusionment, documents seen by Reuters show.

The latest revelations in the "Anglo Leasing" saga -- in which state funds went to a fictitious firm -- threaten to damage President Mwai Kibaki's government, which took power in 2002 vowing to tackle graft in east Africa's biggest economy.

In a leaked letter and statement from November 2005, Kenya 's former anti-graft boss John Githongo said he repeatedly briefed Kibaki about Anglo Leasing and the officials suspected of being involved before quitting in early 2005.

"I had evidence of culpability on the part of the senior-most officials of our administration in some of the corruption-related scandals," he wrote in a letter sent to Kibaki. "I am in a position to conclusively substantiate the claims made ... by means of incontrovertible material evidence."

Kenya 's anti-corruption body has said it wants to question Vice-President Moody Awori, Finance Minister David Mwiraria, Energy Minister Kiraitu Murungi and sacked Transport Minister Chris Murungaru. They were all named in Githongo's documents.

The quartet, who would not immediately comment on Sunday, have said they have nothing to hide from the inquiry.

"It's long on allegations, rather short on concrete evidence," Murungaru's lawyer Paul Muite told Reuters of the revelations. "If it's suggested he (Murungaru) made money I want that evidence. Concrete. How much, when, which accounts?"

No "Lynch Mob"

The government, under pressure to stamp out high-level corruption, said it was investigating and prosecuting all those accused of graft.

"The government has never and will never sanction corrupt or irregular deals to finance politics," Martha Karua, minister for justice and constitutional affairs, said in a statement on a government Web site.

"There will be no cover-up of any complicity in respect of any individual whatsoever. The Government will, however, not participate in lynch-mob tactics but will uphold the rule of law and justice."

Opposition figures called for the ministers to resign.

One even urged Kibaki to step down. But analysts believe he will survive, albeit hurt by the scandal in the former British colony traditionally seen as an anchor of relative stability in turbulent east Africa.

Kenyans list official corruption as one of their chief concerns, and major Western donors such as former colonial power Britain have labelled Kibaki's government as "gluttonous" as that of his predecessor Daniel arap Moi.

The Anglo Leasing scandal -- in which government money was paid to a shadowy foreign company for services supposedly including forgery-proof passports and forensic laboratories -- was worth some $200 million, local media say.

In the statement, Githongo cited conversations with senior officials who said Anglo Leasing was an attempt to build a war chest for the government before elections due in 2007.

Awori, Mwiraria and Murungi retained their positions in government in a cabinet reshuffle last month after Kibaki sacked the entire team following a humiliating referendum defeat.

The letter, dated before the reshuffle, suggests Kibaki was aware of the evidence linking the three to Kenya 's biggest corruption scandal since the "Goldenberg Affair" of the 1990s.

"Moment of Truth"

The cash payments for both tenders started under former President Moi and continued after Kibaki took office. But when donors protested and began withholding aid over the case, a Kenyan probe found the company to be non-existent and the money mysteriously returned to state coffers.

Foreign donors, citing the Anglo Leasing case, have labelled the Kibaki government as corrupt as its predecessor -- in office during Goldenberg when Kenya lost $1 billion in state money through bogus gold and diamond exports.

"This is a moment of truth for Kenya ," one opposition leader Raila Odinga told Reuters, urging the ministers' resignation.

Githongo told Reuters he would be happy to return to Kenya from Britain -- where he has been since his February 2005 resignation -- to give testimony.

"I'd like to think that serious action will be taken against these ongoing scandals," he said by telephone.

Githongo's letter and statement list investigations, death threats against him and meetings at Kibaki's State House during his time as Kenya 's first anti-corruption presidential adviser.

Additional reporting by Fredrik Dahl and Andrew Cawthorne