Owino Opondoand Jillo Kadida
15 July 2008
Nairobi — A parliamentary committee Monday heard evidence from the law firm that acted for the Libyans in the Grand Regency Hotel sale.
Mr Adan Ahmed of Wetang'ula, Adan, Makokha and Company Advocates attended a meeting of the House committee on Finance and Trade to shed light on how the Libyan Arab African Investment clinched the deal.
Mr Moses Wetang'ula has since clarified he resigned from the law firm upon his appointment as Foreign Affairs minister in January.
The House committee, chaired by Nambale MP Chris Okemo, it is understood, received Mr Ahmed at County Hall in Nairobi, where his team is gathering evidence on the controversy surrounding the sale of Grand Regency.
Its report
It has two weeks to investigate all matters on the hotel's sale and present its report to Parliament.
Although details of the meeting were scanty because House committee meetings are held in camera, Mr Ahmed is on record for having said the Libyan company had paid all the US$45 million (Sh2.9 billion) to the Central Bank of Kenya, as per the agreement.
Last month, Lands minister James Orengo kicked a storm when he claimed CBK had quietly sold the hotel, reclaimed from Mr Kamlesh Pattni, to the Libyans at Sh1.9 billion, a figure that was immediately disputed by then Finance minister Amos Kimunya.
Mr Kimunya has since stepped aside to pave way for investigations into the controversial sale.
Meanwhile, members of a commission investigating the controversial sale of the Grand Regency Monday held its first meeting.
Sources told the Nation that the team, led by Retired Chief Justice Abdul Majid Cockar is said to have met at Anniversary Towers to discuss the way forward.
However, the team could not be sworn in Monday because Chief Justice Evan Gicheru was supposed to travel to Mombasa to hear cases together with other Court of Appeal judges.
Kimunya's fate
The three-man team appointed by President Kibaki will determine Mr Kimunya's fate.
Other members are Mr Kathurima M'inoti, who is the chairman of the Law Reform Commission and a former assistant minister for Finance, and Mr Charles Kirui, who is a chartered accountant.
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