A BRITISH
printing firm paid kickbacks of up to Sh40 million to secure contracts for the
printing of Kenya's ballot papers and examination certificates, a UK court has
been told.
Southwark
Crown Court heard that the company, Smith & Ouzman Ltd., targeted senior
officials to win the tenders in a number of African countries.
In Kenya,
the company won a tender to print ballot papers used in the 2013 General
Election and Kenya National Examinations Council certificates.
Evidence
tendered in court showed that the directors of the company and conduits for the
money used the coded word “chicken” for the bribes they paid out.
Among the
emails presented in court is one saying that “we will definitely give them the
chicken”.
In an
email from Trevy James Oyombra to Christopher Smith on December 29, 2008, Trevy
details a meeting and confirms he has promised a public official some chicken,
it was said.
“Hello
Smith, I was successful in the mission - two hours of his time, we spoke at
length, he was also surprised I knew a lot of procurement regulations and
loopholes...”,' wrote Trevy.
“Well, he
has given me a lot of back information that would be helpful to you.
“First he
asked me if you were a nice guy and if you gave chicken and yes, I told him
that is why I was there.
“He is
very comfortable working with me because I told him we have to work with you
and you will make that change in his life.”
There was
also a suggestion to “increase costs in a reasonable manner” and emails
confirming “we will definitely give them the chicken”, jurors heard.
Independent
Electoral and Boundaries Commission Chairman Issack Hassan said that he was
aware of the UK court case, but added that the commission does not know its
specifics.
He also
said that the tendering process was done aboveboard and a company that
challenged the award lost the case in court.
"We
are not aware of any person who has received a bribe over the tender. The
commission is also made up of nine commissioners, including myself, nine
directors, and over 40 managers. We are not aware that any of them have
received the bribes as alleged," Hassan said.
Knec CEO
Joseph Kivilu maintained that he has only read about the allegations in the
media and that none of his staff has been linked to the sleaze directly.
"None
of the staff here has been accused directly," he told the Star on the
phone. “The case is still in court, let it conclude and then we shall see what
comes out."
Appearing
in court are Christopher Smith, 71, the chairman of Smith & Ouzman Ltd.,
and his son, sales and marketing director, Nicholas Smith, 42. They have been
accused of bribing senior government officials in Africa to secure the
lucrative tenders.
Also
charged is Tim Forrester, described as the company's international sales
manager. Evidence also shows that 47-year-old Forrester and company agent
Abdirahman Omar, 38, were involved in the alleged plot, between November 2006
and December 2010.
Source: the star
