Uproar over Kenya hotel sale to Libya
NAIROBI (Reuters) - Corruption watchdogs and seniorpoliticians rounded on Kenyan Finance Minister Amos Kimunya onSunday over the sale of a luxury Nairobi hotel to Libyaninvestors in a deal they said had the whiff of scandal.
Some called for the resignation of Kimunya -- at the helmof east Africa's largest economy since 2006 -- after heannounced on Friday the Grand Regency went for 2.9 billionKenya shillings (22.6 million pounds) in agovernment-to-government deal.
"The price is laughable. It cannot meet the cost of softfurnishing alone," fellow minister Mutula Kilonzo, who runs theNairobi Metropolitan portfolio, told local media.
"The country has been cheated, and you can give thiscorruption another name worse than Goldenberg."
The hotel, owned by a Kenyan tycoon accused of being thearchitect of the so-called Goldenberg scandal that nearly sunkKenya's economy in the 1990s, is viewed by many Kenyans as asymbol of the graft bedevilling their nation.
Kamlesh Pattni, who has been tried but never convicteddespite multiple probes into the siphoning of some $1 billionof public funds over bogus diamond and gold export, handed thefive-star, multi-storey hotel to the central bank earlier thisyear.
Media speculated that had won him immunity.
Kimunya, who told parliament last week the hotel's salewould be public, said in his statement on Friday authoritiesreceived too "sweet" an offer to refuse from the Libyans.
He did not name the buyers.
Critics accused Kimunya of under-valuing the hotel, whichwent for about 4 billion shillings when Pattni bought it in1994.
"MAFIA-LIKE"
They also criticised Kimunya for the secret nature of thesale, rather than a public tender, saying the transaction hadall the hallmarks of past graft cases that have characterisedsuccessive Kenyan governments.
"The cycle of impunity that allows public officers to actas if Kenya is a nation without law must be broken," said localanti-corruption watchdog the Mars Group.
It called for the resignation of Kimunya, Attorney GeneralAmos Wako, Central Bank governor Njuguna Ndung'u and the headof the Kenya Anti Corruption Commission Aaron Ringera.
"If these public officers won't resign, let's demand theirimmediate investigation and sacking," the Mars Group said.
Lands Minister James Orengo said the sale was "mafia-like."He added: "The entire transaction was fraudulent. ... The saleor transfer of the hotel is not recognisable under the law."
Legislator Gitobu Imanyara said he would present a motionin Parliament to censure Kimunya over what he termed "uttercontempt of parliament".
Kimunya could not be reached by Reuters for comment.
But he was quoted in the Sunday Nation as saying he shouldbe applauded for finally bringing money into public coffersfrom the controversial hotel.
"What truth have I not told?" he said. "If anyone thinksthat it was worth 6 billion shillings, why didn't they put up abid to buy it?"
Media, however, did not buy his story.
"Mr Kimunya, the math doesn't add up," the Nation led itseditorial page, calling for the annulment of the deal.
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($1=64.50 Kenyan Shilling)