Mugo Njeru
11 July 2008
Nairobi — Immigration minister Otieno Kajwang' approved work permits for a foreign welder and a salesman against the advice of senior immigration officials, according to documents seen by the Nation.
The Director of Immigration Services had opposed the issuance of the work permits arguing that there were enough Kenyans with the skills and there was no need to allow the foreigners to work in Kenya.
In both cases, Mr Kajwang' responded: "I have noted the comments of DIS. I have interviewed the applicant. I hereby grant a further two years work permit."
Later Day Saints
Mr Kajwang' had earlier given similar permits to eight members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Later Day Saints.
The Nation first broke the story about investigations into the Ministry of Immigration on Monday.
But responding Thursday, Mr Kajwang' denied any wrongdoing and said he had always acted within the law. He also denied allegations that he was involved in corrupt deals. According to him, the law gave the Immigration minister "he ultimate powers" to issue work permits and citizenship documents.
Mr Kajwang' had been accused of ignoring technical advice from his juniors before issuing permits arbitrarily to foreigners with questionable character and backgrounds.
He was also accused of issuing work permits to members of a controversial church and foreigners with questionable education backgrounds.
But on Thursday, he challenged those making the allegations to produce tangible evidence "and I will surely resign".
"I wonder who my accusers are since nobody has come forward with any documents showing that I acted in a corrupt manner," Mr Kajwang told a press conference held at his Nyayo House office.
Overlooked advice
The minister said he overlooked the advice of his Permanent Secretary, Mr Emmanuel Kisombe and the Director of Immigration of Services (DIS), Mr Joseph Nduati, in granting work permits to eight members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints "because I saw no reason to deny them entry".
"The application was from church missionaries who wanted to come to Kenya to preach and support some development activities in the country. I have a soft spot for people who preach," Mr Kajwang' said.
At the time, the Nation reported that the Kenya Anti-Corruption Commission was conducting investigations into mega corruption at the Immigration department.
Sources close to the investigation told the Nation that top officials at the department have been mentioned in the investigations and were likely to be charged in court.
Detectives have been perusing records obtained from the department on Friday last week following reports that foreigners were being issued with entry and work permits after bribing senior officials.
The anti-graft officials have so far discovered that large amounts of money change hands daily in the underhand deals at Nyayo House, the department's headquarters in Nairobi.
They have so far established that corrupt officers have been demanding at least Sh100,000 for every application and applicants who failed to comply had their requests blocked.
On Thursday, Mr Kajwang' wondered why the permits had become an issue yet the Director of Immigration had initially issued permits to 10 of the church members.
According to him, he was persuaded that the other eight members who had appealed against Mr Nduati's decision had met the criteria.
"I disregarded the advice of the immigration office because the members (of the church) had no criminal record," the minister said.
According to the Immigration Act, an applicant whose request for a permit is rejected can appeal to the minister whose decision is final. Using his discretion, the minister can uphold the decision made by his officers or overrule it.
"My judgment in issuing the permits could be wrong. However, the facts that I had at the time is that they were good people. If they are later found not to be good people then the law will take its course," Mr Kajwang' said.
Allegation of impropriety against the Minister came two days after his Finance colleague, Mr Amos Kimunya, stepped aside to pave way for investigations over the controversial sale of the Grand Regency Hotel.
On Thursday, Mr Kajwang defended the issuance of permits to foreigners seeking jobs which could be done by Kenyans. He said in many instances, investors demanded to have some of their trusted countrymen fill certain positions in their businesses.
"We need to allow them to come along with few of their countrymen to fill certain positions. If we do not do this they will simply go and invest in another country," he said.
In one instance according to the documents, the minister granted a two-year work permit to a Bachelor of Commerce degree holder to work in a retail store contrary to the advice given by Mr Nduati and PS Kisombe.
The minister also denied ignoring technical advice saying he had concurred with his officers in many instances and upheld their decisions on various appeals.
Mr Adan Hassan, whose Ethiopian wife had been seeking citizenship for the last eight years, lodged a complaint at the ministry, saying the delay had caused their family psychological torture.
Mr Hassan's case is one of controversial cases handled by Mr Kajwang in which the minister overruled Mr Nduati and ordered him to grant Elizabeth Tadile Abe (Hassan's wife) citizenship status.
Mr Hassan said despite the minister's instructions his wife was yet to be granted citizenship.
More damning evidence has emerged on Cabinet minister Otieno Kajwang's excesses at the ministry.
Investigations by the Nation have revealed that Mr Kajwang went out of his way to ensure that a welder from a foreign country was granted a two-year work permit despite being advised against it by Mr Ndathi last month.
According to documents, Mr Ndathi had advised the minister against the move.
"These are skills that are plenty in the local Kenyan labour market. The application was rejected by the Entry Work Permit Steering Committee on this basis. Appeal is not recommended," Mr Ndathi had said in a letter to the minister.
But Mr Kajwang', even in the absence of Mr Kisombe went ahead and granted two years work permit to the welder.
There are 750 polytechnics across the country which churn out thousands of students to the job market every year. Many of these polytechnics offer welding courses.
On June 20, the day he granted the welder the work permit, he also dished out another to a middle level manager working at a factory in Nairobi's Industrial Area.
Entry permit
Mr Ndathi had earlier indicated that the appellant had only been granted a one year dual entry permit to allow him to hand over to a Kenyan. The permit expired last month.
"It is my recommendation that this position be upheld in order to create employment for Kenyan citizens," Mr Ndathi told the minister on April 29.
But last month, Mr Kajwang' wrote: "I have noted the comments of the DIS. But after interviewing the applicant, I hereby grant a permit for two more years."
Sources at the ministry disclosed that the minister had approved scores of work permits which had earlier on been rejected by the immigration officers.
Additional reporting by Jeff Otieno and Fred Mukinda
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Turn a Blind BP eye will continue to ruka ruka as appropriate, Michuki, streamline that ministry but don't let the cash pass on to other quarters.