- Says Kenyans are entitled to full disclosure of the allegations against him
- Calls it an old story being resuscitated for reasons only known to the US
Ex-Attorney General Amos Wako has censured the US for crucifying his family for graft sins he is alleged to have committed alone during his stint at the State Law Office.
An emotional Wako said it was in “bad taste” for the Donald Trump administration to publicly slap his wife and son with travel bans and challenged the US to lay bare any graft evidence against him.
Wako reiterated a statement he made ten years ago that he had no desire to visit the US.
On Monday, the US State Department announced the travel restriction on Wako for engaging in what they termed as “significant corruption.”
Also banned are Wako’s wife Flora and son Julius.
But addressing a press conference in Parliament yesterday, Wako, now Busia Senator, wondered how his family was involved in discharging his duties during his 20-year stint as Attorney General
“My family was not involved at all when I was discharging my functions as the Attorney General. My son is an adult, and an excellent and successful legal practitioner with well-known expertise in various fields in the African level and living a very independent life,” the Senator said.
“So even if I committed the sin of corruption, assuming I committed it, which I emphatically deny, it would be my personal responsibility, and my wife and son and indeed all members of my family should not be punished for my sins. I do not pretend to be a Jesus to die for other people’s sin.”
Julius, an advocate of the High Court of Kenya and a qualified English barrister is a partner in Daly and Inamdar.
The senator said it was the second time the US was blacklisting him and asked them to lay bare any graft evidence against him.
"Make it public for Kenyans to know the full particulars of corruption against me,"he said.
"I must say that I am confident about my own integrity and have nothing whatsoever to hide. So let it disclose it to the people of Kenya not in some walls in Washington. Failure to do so will put into question their rhetoric about fighting corruption."
Wako was first banned from traveling to the US in 2009 over what is believed to be a link to the Anglo Leasing and Goldenberg scandals.
The ex-AG yesterday likened the latest US move to "flogging a dead horse."
“Its an old story being resuscitated for reasons best known to whoever is doing it,” he said, and wondered why the US was not acting tough on recent graft claims.
Despite the ban, Wako revealed that he had been traveling to the US every year as UN commissioner on the International Law Commission.
"I am eternally grateful to God who has continued to bless me even more and enabled me to continue playing important roles in Kenya, in the region and internationally,"he said
He went on to term the US action a “small thing” which will not interfere with his work as a senator and in other offices he holds.
“People in Busia wanted to demonstrate over the issue but I pleaded with them not to do it. I have been telling them it’s a small thing and they should not be worried,” Wako reiterated.
Wako served as the Attorney General for 20 years from 13 May 1991 to 26 August 2011. His first travel ban was issued in 2009.
The then Assistant Secretary of State Johnnie Carson, while on a visit to Kenya, announced that Wako had been banned from the country because he was considered an obstacle in the fight against graft.
Wako learnt of the second ban while in Kampala, Uganda at an event of the East Africa Community.
Leaked cables had indicated that the US embassy in Kenya noted that despite a string of major corruption scandals, Wako failed to prosecute successfully a single senior government figure and also thwarted their prosecution.
It further noted that Wako was repeatedly accused by civil society groups as well as anti-graft bodies of failing to prosecute cases of corruption.
Yesterday, Wako noted that the reasons given on 4 November 2009 for the revocation of his visa and permanent suspension of his entry to the US were that he engaged in corrupt activities.
“The current ban is allegedly because of my involvement in significant corruption. They all relate to my period as AG. One wonders why a travel ban would be issued when there is already one in place,” he said.
He added that the people of Kenya were entitled to full disclosure of the allegations against him.
He said his lawyer in Washington on October 2012 applied to receive under the Freedom of Information Act details of the ban but it too six months for them to get a reply. “The reply was to the effect that they were unable to provide any information on our request,” he claimed.