- The DP wants foreigners in the military scam deal blocked from leaving Kenya
- Asks IGP to reveal steps he has taken to avoid recurrence of security breach in his office
At least four police officers have been suspended over the fake arms scam involving former Sports CS Rashid Echesa as Deputy President William Ruto raised concerns about his safety.
The four, two from Prisons and Administration Police, recorded statements yesterday in relation to the Sh39 billion fake military equipment scandal.
Deputy director of communications in Ruto's office Emmanuel Tallam confirmed that DCI officers interrogated the four who were on duty the day Echesa and his group went to the DP's office.
"We are not aware of interdictions but I can confirm that four officers recorded statements," Tallam said.
Ruto yesterday claimed his life was in danger following what he termed a "serious security breach" at his Harambee House Annex.
The details emerged as a section of Ruto's allies began claiming that the conned investors in the Sh39 billion military tender were in fact mercenaries - latter day Artur brothers - who could be a huge security threat to the DP.
Ruto alleged last year that some Cabinet Secretaries, most of them close associates of President Uhuru Kenyatta, were meeting at the La Mada Hotel in Nairobi to plan his assassination.
Yesterday, Ruto called for a thorough forensic probe on two foreigners who accessed his office alongside Echesa on February 13 to allegedly sign the fake military surveillance deal.
This even as it emerged that the DP had asked for an overhaul of his security personnel at his Harambee House Annex office.
The tender debacle has put Ruto's office in a tight spot as critics call for his resignation from government.
However, Ruto declared that the foreigners - Mustafa Lofty and Stanley Kozlowski Bruno - must not be allowed to leave the country before a forensic investigation is done.
Lofy and Kozlowski are the directors of Eco Advanced Technologies, the firm which was awarded the fake military tender to allegedly supply Kenya Defence Forces with high-tech surveillance equipment.
He said the forensic investigation must reveal the real nationalities of the two foreigners and also establish the local faces behind EAT whose directors have alleged they were swindled Sh11.5 million by Echesa as brokerage fee.
In a letter to Inspector General of Police Hillary Mutyambai, the DP said the forensic investigation should establish the foreigners' mission in Kenya and at his Harambee House Annex office.
The investigation should look at the identity of the foreigners, their criminal records, their immigration status in the country and their nature of business.
“This is a matter of grave concern to the security of the Deputy President and other users of Harambee House Annex,” Ruto said in a strongly worded letter signed by his Chief of Staff Ken Osinde
He added: “The foreigners should not be allowed to leave the country until this forensic investigation is done and information obtained.”
The letter was copied to National Intelligence Service boss Phillip Kameru and Director of Criminal Investigations George Kinoti.
Ruto's imposing Harambee House Annex office is a security installation with hawk-eyed sentries who keep vigil.
Entering the building is no walk in the park and questions have remained as to who facilitated the entry of Echesa and his two guests.
Elgeyo Marakwet Senator Kipchumba Murkomen claimed the foreigners are mercenaries and their visit was a setup.
"The whole thing was a setup and by good luck, DP wasn’t in Annex, "Murkomen tweeted.
"They are mercenaries. Arrest them. They can't be investors. No investor can sign a DoD contract of Sh39 billion in a waiting room without a lawyer or witness," the Senate Majority Leader said.
But former Mukwereini MP Kabando wa Kabando termed Harambee House Annex an "extortionats palace that should be quarantined and not deodorized."
"Annex is a crime scene and a nest of economic saboteurs. Annex is home to political locusts. Locusts should be evicted and innocents evacuated," he told the Star.
ODM national treasurer Timothy Bosire claimed the DP's assassination claims were sufficient grounds for him to step aside and clear the way for independent investigations.
"It is now in the public interest that he steps aside without any innuendos or imaginations about what is happening. The interest of the country should come first," he told the Star.
As Ruto fought back alleging a threat to his life following the Echesa visit, the ex-CS said the DP has been his friend for a long time even before he became a Cabinet Secretary.
"I don't need an appointment to see DP Ruto... he is my friend... let them table evidence in court," Echesa claimed in an Interview on NTV on Tuesday night from his Karen residence.
Echesa distanced himself from Pzels Co Limited, a firm through which he is said to have received a down payment of Sh11.5 million from EAT as part of the military tender deal.
He denied claims he had signed any contract with Eco Advanced Technologies for the supply of military equipment.
"I don't know where this narrative of Sh40 billion is coming from. I have never signed a contract and if there is one that I signed then the law is very clear. I want to challenge the DCI to publish those signatures," Echesa said.
But the DP's hard-hitting statement appeared to throw Echesa, his longtime ally, under the bus.
This after he questioned how the ex-CS was cleared to access his Harambee House Annex office.
“This incident is a serious security breach of the Deputy President and requires a thorough forensic investigation to establish, among others, how did Echesa in the company of others including foreigners access the DP's office,” Ruto said.
The DP also wants investigators to unravel the identity of other individuals who accompanied the foreigners and Echesa to his office for the alleged February 13 meeting in which the military deal was supposed to be signed.
Ruto insisted that the forensic probe must also ascertain the number of people who accessed his waiting room and the identities of the security officers who facilitated the same.
The DP's move to raise his concerns in public appeared to turn the heat of the probe on the DCI and the NIS.
The state agencies are said to have been closely monitoring Echesa's movements and meetings with the foreigners before he was nabbed on February 13.
The former Cabinet Secretary and his co-accused were freed on a Sh1 million cash bail on Monday after denying charges preferred by the DCI.
Echesa was arrested some 15 minutes after walking out of the DP's office with Lofty and Kozlowski.
As Ruto fought back any association with Echesa and the foreigners, it emerged that EAT may not be having a local office, after all.
The EAT, which according to records at the Registrar of Companies, was registered in Kenya in 2006 had indicated Chabli Drive House Number 34 as its Nairobi physical address.
However, the Star checked the said address and only found a building that looked unkempt and deserted with no indications of an office of a company dealing with a multi-million-shilling contracts.
The company had listed Stanley Miano, Kozlowski, Peter Nderitu and Robert James as the shareholders.
Detectives from the DCI are analysing CCTV footage obtained from the Harambee House Annex, Hemingways Hotel, KICC and JKIA in to piece the evidence together to tighten their case.