E-Clips:- Business Pictorial - Anglo Leasing

Anti-corruption boss Aaron Ringera has met Mr John Githongo in what is believed to be an attempt to get his signed statement on the Anglo Leasing scandal.

Mr Justice Ringera and Mr Githongo, the self-exiled former Ethics and Governance permanent secretary, met in Guatemala, Latin America, on Friday night.

Sources close to Mr Justice Ringera said the meeting went on into the early hours of Saturday morning.

Both Mr Githongo and the Kenya Anti-Corruption Commission's public relations officer, Mr Nicholas Simani, confirmed that the meeting took place. But they would not divulge its details. Mr Justice Ringera happened to be attending a conference in the Central American country where Mr Githongo was a key speaker at a major conference on corruption.

He was accompanied by deputy director Fatuma Sichale, and the chairman of the commission's board of directors, Mr Allan Ngugi.

The meeting was also attended by a delegation of Kenyan MPs led by a Cabinet minister.

The meeting between Mr Justice Ringera and Mr Githongo follows recent demands by Attorney-General Amos Wako for the evidence collected from Mr Githongo by Mr Justice Ringera's team.

Mr Wako is reported to have written to Mr Ringera questioning why Mr Githongo's evidence was not included when Mr Justice Ringera presented to his office files recommending prosecutions over the multi-billion shilling scandal.

Apart from other reasons like "glaring gaps and deficiencies", it is understood that Mr Wako wanted to scrutinise what Mr Githongo told the commission alongside other evidence gathered from the investigations. With Mr Githongo's evidence, it is believed, Mr Wako will know how to approach the prosecution.

It still remains a mystery as to what happened to the earlier statements Mr Githongo and his lawyer, Prof Makau Mutua, said they did not only sign, but also sent a copy to President Kibaki.

"I'm shocked and appalled that Mr Ringera did not include evidence and testimony provided to him by Mr Githongo, especially after spending two days with him in London," said Prof Mutua.

Authenticated statement

Prof Mutua added: "Among other things, we submitted to him a signed and authenticated statement responding to questions that he had put to us in writing. In short, we have provided him with everything he had asked for." He saw the exclusion of Mr Githongo's evidence as an attempt to cover up the scandal.

"Mr Justice Ringera is a highly learned professor of evidence – in fact he taught me at the University of Nairobi. So I find it incredible that he could have done a sloppy and incompetent job," Prof Mutua said.

On October 18, Mr Wako sent back to the commission for further investigations the files of 12 prominent people recommended for prosecution.

He raised various questions regarding the evidence, saying what had been presented to him was not enough to mount a prosecution and secure conviction in court.

Among the concerns Mr Wako raised was failure by the investigators to record statements from foreign-based witnesses who played roles in the deals; and the possibility of some suspects who are also witnesses in other corruption cases becoming hostile to the State and helping the accused to escape justice.

Mr Githongo resigned as Governance and Ethics PS in February last year accusing top ministers of corruption. He sent his resignation letter from London where he was on official duty and has not returned to Kenya since, saying his life could be threatened if he came back.