Interview With Marianne Briner On The Information That Cost Dr Robert Ouko His Life

Marianne Briner-Mattern

This is a very brave woman who still lives with threats that have been constantly directed at her because of the information she has. She has had to change where she lives and also take extraordinary precautions to stay alive. Somebody once told her that there was nowhere in the world he would be able to hide from them. She however kindly agreed to answer some of my questions.


Kumekucha: From reading your book The Shining Star in Darkness, is it correct to say that you still feel somehow guilty concerning the death of Dr. Robert Ouko?

Marianne Briner-Mattern: In a certain way yes - if I would not have pushed to get the information about the thriving corruption with Mr. Biwott as the center of all these illegal demands and payments to be known to the President, and if I would not have finally convinced Dr. Ouko to also write his own Report about all this - maybe he would still be alive.

What I did not know at that time was the fact that Dr. Ouko not only compiled a Report on the Corruption but also on the private life of Mr. Moi and this may at the end have been the real reason why he was killed. That such a Report existed has been confirmed to me by his Sister Dorothy Randiek soon after he got killed and has also been confirmed again to me by somebody very trustable just now including some details which I did not know yet and which are even worse than what I ever believed. If it is true that Dr. Ouko knew also about these very dirty details and was willing to expose them, then I am sure this was the reason why Mr. Moi gave his consent for his killing.

As Mr. Troon clearly stated: Dr. Ouko was killed on executive order by the man at the top (i.e. President Daniel T. arap Moi).


Kumekucha: The information that Dr. Ouko had on the corruption must also have been in the hands of many other top ranking government officials.

Marianne Briner-Mattern: Yes, but the corruption was not just a matter between Mr. Moi and Mr. Biwott. There was a closed circle around the two who participated in this. Others like Dr. Ouko - did not belong to this. Mr. Biwott gave always the final "approval" who wasn't and who was.

Dr. Ouko and a few others - Ministers who had been appointed for only political (tribal balancing) reasons like Omanga, Onyango did not belong to this. Take note of the fact that all three were not only Luos but also old friends of Dr. Ouko.

I give you an example (which I gave also to the Sunguh-Committee): the following commissions had to be secured before even starting to discuss the Molasses Plant and new Cement Factory (the Mandate given to my Company connected these two projects). Both projects had a total value of approx. US $300 Million - and the following people expected to receive 10 % each: Moi, Biwott, Kiptanui, Prof. Saitoti (who even sent his personal aid Surtan several times to the hotel to put more pressure on us) and E. Mwangale (who was the one passing the message to us one day after we attended a Cabinet Meeting where the Representatives of the Groups involved were presenting their Credentials and Dr. Ouko was given the green light to forward their offers for approval).

The person in charge on behalf of the Government was Mohammed Aslam, Chairman of PanAfrican Bank. Note: Mr. Aslam died suddenly (supposedly on a heart-attack) on the evening before having agreed to give evidence in front of the Gicheru-Commission in Kisumu. His family then left Kenya and Aslam's name has now also come out in connection with the Goldenberg Case and the Grand Regency Hotel financing that Mr. Kiptanui has paid to them in London. This was several million dollars. Also Mr. Mwangale died "suddenly" (again heart attack) the same day when I mentioned his name at the Sunguh-Inquiry now in Nairobi as the go-between for the commission payments in connection with the Molasses Plant. Was that a coincidence?

It is important to note that Mr. Troon has given to the Sunguh-Committee in London the list with the names of 18 people where the circumstances leading to their deaths are doubtful and therefore their bodies should be exhumed for further investigations.


Kumekucha: Many Kenyans believe that former President Moi changed a great deal after the 1982 attempted coup.

Marianne Briner-Mattern: Although I was not in Kenya during that time since I had been asked to leave the country in April 1981 on request of Mr. Biwott and only came back for the first time in 1986, I have been told that it had indeed a great impact on him. He started not to trust anybody anymore and Mr. Biwott took even more advantage of that becoming the only one who had influence on him after he got rid of Mr. Njonjo also whose advise and friendship Mr. Moi had always valued very high. So with the planting of Kiptanui, Oyugi and then Kulei as his direct informants around the President and also appointing his old associate from the coast Kivuvani to Nairobi (former Special Branch, then CID), the circle around Moi was closed.


Kumekucha: When did you start suspecting that Dr. Ouko had been murdered?

Marianne Briner-Mattern: I had been in contact with Mr. J.F. Addley from Kaplan & Stratton since October 1989. I knew that the former President used him as a proxy in some foreign companies (a position later taken over by Kulei) and that he therefore had direct access to Moi. The reason for my approach was the deportation of my business partner, Mr. Domenico Airaghi, in March 1989 for illegal involvement in Government matters on request of Mr. Biwott.

I had tried in vain to get in contact with Moi by phone and also in writing. I gave to Addley all information not only regarding the Molasses Plant but also regarding the other projects for which we had not only presented the groups interested but also secured the financing via various European Governments on grant and soft-loan basis (medium and low-rent housing, water projects, roads, rehabilitation of KMC and Uplands Pig Factory as well as Textile Factories, building of a steel factory, fish filleting plant, food storage facilities etc. etc.).

Mr. Addley then had some meetings with Moi, which he confirmed to me in writing. It came out that Moi never received my letters nor was he informed that I had tried to call him. Moi then proposed to have a personal meeting with me, which was scheduled first to take place in January 1990. But since I had other appointments already, I had to postpone.

So the meeting was then confirmed for the second half of February after his return from Washington. On February 14, Addley then called me and gave me the message that Dr. Ouko was missing and a search was going on. Your meeting with H.E. cannot take place now. Please wait for further information.

I called immediately Esther Ruvaga, Dr. Ouko's secretary. She confirmed this information and then two days later called me to tell me his body has been found.
Addley then also informed me that he had a meeting with H.E. and that first Moi wanted me to come immediately with all information and documents, but then called him back to stop me again from coming.

I then received another fax by Addley after the Scotland Yard people had arrived in Kenya. Again first instructing me to come to meet Moi and then telling me not to come but to give all information and documents via the British Embassy in Berne (Switzerland) directly to the investigating Officers (John Troon). The British Embassy declined to get involved and I contacted Prof. Ogada, Kenyan Envoy to the UN-Mission in Geneva, whom I had met once in Kisumu introduced by Dr. Ouko. Prof. Ogada then came to my office and after having read all the documents agreed to go to Nairobi and to hand them over to John Troon. I had also prepared another envelope with the same documents for H.E. which Prof. Ogada then gave in Nairobi to Ndolo Ayah who had in the meantime been appointed as the new Minister for Foreign Affairs.
Here it is interesting to note that Prof. Ogada soon after lost his job in Geneva and died in a questionable car accident some years ago in Kenya.

Also Addley has left Kenya soon after. All attempts to get him to witness by Scotland Yard have been blocked. He also never gave evidence to the Gicheru-Committee nor was it possible for the Sunguh-Committee to get into contact with him.
Kumekucha: Can you comment about attempts on your life so far due to the explosive information you have?


Marianne Briner-Mattern: I cannot comment on the attempts on my life during my stay in Kenya. I have promised not to give more details or to comment on this outside the book to avoid legal problems.

But I can confirm that there were attempts, there was the bugging of my telephone also in the private house where I stayed with friends in Karen, there was the protection by the German Ambassador who hosted me at the end and thanks to whom I reached the plane, we really had to pass two road-blockages since they assumed me to be in the car of Gor Sunguh who drove in front, there was the official request by Biwott to block me from leaving the country since I had to be "punished". See also more details in my London Declaration.


Kumekucha: Can You comment about your relationship with former President Moi?

Marianne Briner-Mattern: I have also problems in commenting on some questions regarding the relationship with Moi. This is also a reason why I never could give any interview in any Television Channel although I had been invited. Kilonzo is just waiting that I make a mistake to comment on this and other subjects. This is also the reason why the Publisher has decided to keep the story fictional. They were fearing Libel Court Cases like Moi and Biwott had filed against Smith-Hempstone, Dr. Ian West and others who then not only had to pay a lot of money but also had to take the books from the market.

I can confirm to you that I never had a private relationship with Dr. Ouko. We were friends in the best sense and this included also his wife and the children. Mrs. Ouko has confirmed this in her evidence when she said that I was for her like "a family member".

I would propose that you publish my London Declaration instead. This document has the privilege status and cannot be challenged in any court. This fact is also protecting you. It also answers practically all the questions you have put to me.

Additionally I can only say the following:

My relationship with Moi lasted from 1979 - 1981 and had therefore nothing to do with my work as a Consultant which only started in 1985. I had made it very clear before coming back to Kenya that the private relationship was finished.

If you need more details, please ask but please also understand that I have to be careful since I have been told that Biwott tries hard to convince Moi to still file a case against me in Switzerland.

Although many people knew about Moi and me, it was a well-kept secret since officially nobody was supposed to know (although the Swiss and German Ambassadors now confirmed to me that everybody knew about it..........). But some dared to ask me later like Rose Waruhiu, Grace Ogot and also Cristabel Ouko. Always the same question of course "how is he ?:::::" - Needless to say, I always just smiled and never made a comment......

Of course also Dr. Ouko knew - but he never said anything until one day years later. We were driving back from Kisumu to Nairobi when all of the sudden he turned to me and to my big surprise said "You know, you would have been perfect for him - you would have been a wonderful First Lady and all Kenya would have been proud of you - just think what you could have done. - If only he would not have let you go ......."

I just shook my head "It is too late now" .....

And we never came back to this subject again.

You see, it is a very sad story - for many people.


Kumekucha: It was reported in The Standard newspapers that you influenced the 2002 elections with one telephone call. Please give us details.

Marianne Briner-Mattern: When that meeting in Crans-Montana failed (see London declaration) because also Biwott would have been present, I was furious and called Dr. Mungai. And this was the beginning of the "Uhuru-Project" ......... Moi dropped Raila because Raila had disclosed to me that "he was the future President saying "you will have the pleasure to meet the actual and the future one ..." and Raila and Kulei had disclosed that Moi had entered as a partner into the Molasses Plant - a position later taken over by this Canadian-South-African Group which is supposed to be now a partner ....

So Dr. Mungai took advantage and Moi started to think about Uhuru .............

Do you understand now why a Committee Member (Amina Abdallah of the Biwott camp) told me - when I was reading the Declaration and coming to the remark "I do not want to influence Kenyan politics" and then quoted Kilonzo instead - "but this is what you have always done and still continue to do: influencing Kenyan politics.

Back To The First Page Of This Red Hot Story.

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So Now You Know…
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