GOLDENBERG International Ltd transferred millions of shillings in hard currency to Britain and America in 1992, a witness told the Commission of Inquiry yesterday. The Commission was told that the country lost millions of shillings in hard currency through capital flight as a result of Goldenberg’s actions. Kenya was at the time going through serious economic hardships due to lack of foreign currency to finance imports and crucial services.
It was alleged that Goldenberg director gamiest’ Pattni used an obscure account called Shimba Kay, whose owners have never been identified, to transfer the money out of the country. Ironically, Pattni was supposed to have been bringing into the country foreign currency through a contract he entered into with the Government and the Central Bank of Kenya. A former assistant manager at Ex-change Bank, Mr Peter Mutuku Mukanda, said the money was transferred from the Shimba Kay account at Exchange Bank Ltd. Mukanda who was being cross-examined by Cecil Miller Jnr of the Deposit Protection Fund, said he did not know the owners of the Shimba Kay ac-count. “I did not know the owners of Shimba Kay, but the account was operated by a man called Kaka, whose other name I cannot remember,” said Mukanda.
Miller produced evidence to show that he signed the transfers of the money to Citibank New York and Citibank London from the Shimba Kay account. The witness had earlier claimed that he never transacted any transfers because he did not handle foreign exchange dealings at Exchange Bank. He had denied having worked as a cashier during his banking career but found himself in trouble when evidence was tabled showing that he handled foreign exchange. He was intensively questioned by Miller and Justice Samuel Bosire after it was discovered that he signed vouchers variously as “Office’, “Cashier”, “Accountant” and “Manager”.
Mukanda was told that from the way he operated at the bank, it appeared that he was merely a clerk whose work was to sign vouchers and other documents as instructed. Miller told the witness that he was withholding so much evidence from the Commission, arid at one time Desire threatened to throw him out of the Inquiry hall. Bosire said he should not just have been signing the documents as cashier, manager, accountant or officer without amending or stamping his proper title on the documents.
