Owino Opondo and Odhiambo Orlale
30 April 2008
Nairobi — Court cases concerning the Grand Regency Hotel collapsed after businessman Kamlesh Pattni surrendered it to Central Bank of Kenya, Finance minister Amos Kimunya told MPs.
He described the move to surrender the hotel as unprecedented and exemplary and appealed to others with pending cases on graft to emulate the architect of the Goldenberg scandal.
Not criticise
The minister said the controversial sale of the hotel will be done transparently.
Mr Kimunya asked members to laud and not criticise CBK and KACC once the hotel was sold.
The minister denied that the hotel had already been sold to a Libyan investor behind the scene.
Mr Kimunya also denied claims by some members that he was an interested party in the deal. He said he was unaware of claims that former Trade minister, Dr Mukhisa Kituyi, had announced last year that the Libyan firm had expressed an interest in buying the hotel.
The minister said the bone of contention was that CBK was owed Sh2.7 billion which was "irregularly" taken by Mr Pattni 15 years ago.
Standing on a point of order, Mr Cyrus Jirongo (Kaddu, Lugari) said: "The minister is taking us in circles. Can he tell us why CBK was not paid a cent since 1997 when a Mr Kitony was removed as a receiver manager after he gave CBK Sh470 million?"
On why Attorney general Amos Wako was not consulted in the deal between Mr Pattni and KACC and CBK, Mr Kimunya said the AG had been in the picture for the 15 years that the case had been in the court. He said: "What the AG was referring to when he said he was not aware of the deal was that he had not given Mr Pattni an amnesty as is required by law. The consent order was extended by the court to allow CBK to manage the hotel."
Earlier, Mr Gitobu Imanyara (Imenti Central, CCU), who had sought the statement, had claimed that the hotel was discussed during a trip by President Kibaki to Libya, and Uganda, this year.
Said he: "After the Libyan trip, Dr Kituyi addressed a press conference and announced that the Government had got a buyer for the Grand Regency hotel."
Receiver managers
Mr Kiema Kilonzo (Mutito, ODM-K) demanded that the minister names the two receiver managers who took over the hotel from 1999 to two weeks ago. He also wanted to know how much revenue they collected for CBK.
Mr Ababu Namwamba (Budalangi, ODM) described the minister's statement as "semantics" and far from the true picture. Mr Eugene Wamalwa (Saboti, PNU) said the hotel was valued at Sh2.9 billion in 1997 and asked whether the hotel would be sold by private treaty or auction.
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