Anglo Leasing: Sales Lady Agent And Kamani Family Remain "Untouchable" In Kenya

Kenyans are notorious for two characteristics that have greatly helped the corruption cartels survive with relative ease in the country over the years and even murderers get away with brutal murder. Firstly we have very short memories and secondly we get bored pretty fast.

Nothing wrong with being bored quickly except that if the subject matter is a mega scum that your great grand children will still not quite pay off for, then it is criminal to put it off your mind for one second. Boredom of the Dr-Robert-Ouko-murder-circus that has now been running for over 15 years may arguably be excused, despite the great pain to close relatives, like his widow. But surely Kenyans must pursue tenaciously, mega scandals that have robbed and impoverished millions of Kenyans like Goldenberg and Anglo Leasing.

It is safe to assume that this administration is banking on the habit of the Kenyan public to quickly forget or get bored and are hoping that as the year progresses, the latest Githongo tapes will fade into the background as the excitement and drama of election campaigns hit center stage. They are hoping that in that kind of scenario Kenyans will even find it in themselves to re-elect this corrupt and incompetent government of mostly grand dads, back into power.

Some people in the opposition have other ideas and are hoping to keep the massive Anglo Leasing scandal fresh on the minds of Kenyans right up to polling day. For selfish reasons of course because many of them have also been involved in corruption on a grand scale.

Meanwhile even as the public focuses on Githongo and Justice Minister, Martha Karua who has rapidly emerged as the government's voice in the Githongo issue, there are others who were involved in this mega scandal whose names have completely been forgotten.

For example does the name Sudha Ruparell sound even remotely familiar? No? But that is the Anglo Leasing Sales Agent. The 48-year-old woman is one of the very few visible faces of the mysterious Anglo Leasing Finance, which is right at the center of the entire mess that Githongo has been shouting himself hoarse about. Ms Ruparell is the member of a family whose name no doubt rings a bell amongst many Kenyans. This is the notorious Kamani family. She is actually the daughter of Chamanlal Kamani and sister of Rashmikant Kamani and Deepak Kamani.

Name any major security supplies scandal in Kenya and the Kamani family name is bound to pop up. Remember the Mahindra's supplied to the Kenyan police that were a big joke in car chases with violent criminals? Guess who supplied them? The Kamani family through one of their many companies, this particular one called Kamsons Ltd.

To put it briefly (and not bore Kenyans with the details that they usually get quickly bored with) The Kamani family has made a name for itself for getting involved in deals where they sell stuff to the Kenyan government at greatly inflated prices and many times the stuff is not even delivered, although it is paid for upfront. Which incidentally is what the Anglo Leasing mega scandal is all about.

Although at least one member of the Kamani family is wanted by the Kenya police and Interpol for questioning regarding Anglo Leasing, the family businesses continue to thrive and prosper in Kenya. You probably didn't even think about it when you made that major purchase there only yesterday. The family member wanted by police is Chamanlal Kamani and there is actually a reward of of Kshs 100,000 (US$1,500) for information leading to his capture.

The rest of the Kamanis are not on the run like Githongo is and yet it has become abundantly clear that no discussion of Anglo Leasing can take place without the Kamani name featuring prominently.

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