Police probe missing Chinese donation to Parliament

Cops spent a better part of yesterday unravelling the mystery of an empty container from China that was delivered to Parliament on Wednesday.

The officers were investigating whether the container came from China in that state or if its contents were emptied n the high seas.

On arrival at a port of call, a container is normally scanned and a document – referred to as T12, generated. The document contains details of the consignment, consignee, tax due or a waiver note.

Police reports show that the container was scanned two times at the Port of Mombasa where a multi-agency team found that it was empty.

A detective handling the case said the team at the port raised concerns on the state of the container but could not open it because it was labelled ‘Diplomatic Goods’.

Correspondences between the National Assembly and China showed that the Asian nation was to deliver 46 laptops, five sets of projectors, and four digital cameras.

The computers were of specs 500GB, 4GB RAM, with pre-installed Windows 10 Operating System; while the cameras were of Canon 5D Mark IV, all valued at about Sh10 million.

Vice chairman of the National People’s Congress of China, during a visit to Nairobi in April, promised to deliver the items to be used at the new assembly office block.

The cop, who asked not to be named, told the Star that the container was hauled by an SGR cargo train to the Inland Container Depot at Embakasi from where it was to be shipped to the Chinese embassy.

The Star has established that the vessel carrying the container docked on July 21 and was cleared in two days.

The road consignment note raised by Bollore shows that the package was loaded in Mombasa on July 30.

It remains unclear how long it took at the ICD before dispatch to Parliament.

The embassy engaged Bollore Africa Logistics as the clearing agent and transporter of the consignment which was to be eventually delivered to Speaker Justin Muturi.

“The container weighed 2.5 tonnes at the port, which was the same as registered by the clearing agent at the various stops. If there was no foul play when the items docked, then the container came empty,” the detective told the Star.

He said the case is ‘complex’ since the seals and other locks were in place when they responded to the distress call from Parliamentary officers who were to receive the goods.

“Technically, we can say that the package was empty when it got here. We have tracked the movement back to the port where the officers there have confirmed the same,” the detective said.

But the mystery is likely to deepen in the face of the Chinese embassy saying it got information that the items were loaded for shipping to Kenya.

In a press statement, the embassy – currently under the stewardship of Ambassador  Wu Peng, said it was shocked on learning that the container arrived at Parliament buildings empty.

The consulate said that China has made friendly donations of medical equipment, food aid, office equipment among many others without a hitch.

“The items have all been delivered safe and sound. Among them were office equipment donated to Parliament in 2018. This is the first time that such a thing has ever happened,” the embassy said.

Wu Peng’s office said it hoped that the DCI would investigate the matter with a view to recovering the equipment.

“With an unwavering commitment to the bilateral friendship, the Chinese side will continue to support our Kenyan brothers and sisters,” the embassy said.

National Assembly Clerk Michael Sialai said their part in the probe is limited since Parliament was not the consignee.

“The matter is in the hands of the Chinese Embassy in Nairobi and its logistics partners – Bollore Logistics Africa. We hope the ongoing investigations will help us understand what happened,” Sialai said.

An unsigned delivery certificate from the embassy shows the items were shipped from China National Township Enterprises Ltd.

Representatives of the company and the recipient were supposed to sign the delivery certificate after checking the names, quantities, and specifications.

Bollore Africa promised to issue a statement on the matter but had not done so by the time of press.

(edited by O. Owino)