Harun Mwau: Pleaded innocence yesterday but failed to explain how he acquired his billions. Why would Obama or the Americans want to witch hunt a Kenyan businessman?She pretended to play along only for my friend to receive a call one day in the wee hours of the morning from Accra in Ghana. She had been arrested at the airport with drugs and desperately needed his help. He has not seen her for 7 years now and word reaching him is that she is serving a long jail sentence in that country.
The reality is that so many young and-not-so-young women have been lured into the world of peddling drugs. The easy cash and the jet-set lifestyle of constantly flying to exotic capitals all over the world is something that not many Kenyans can easily resist.
But let me indulge in a fascinating aside here. Why get involved in a business whose tragic end for you is so obvious and inevitable? The truth is that if you deal in drugs you will either end up dead or get caught. Interestingly people get away with other crimes and indulge in them for a lifetime up to retirement. But this does not apply to drugs. Instructively the Mafia did so well in evading the law successfully and remaining under the radar for so many years. However their downfall happened rapidly when they started getting involved in drugs.
You just don’t get away with it in the drugs business. But will those involved listen? And this applies from the small timers to the kingpins. As you read this people are defending themselves and talking about their hard work and sweat but they don’t want to tell us how they rose from being lowly cops earning Kshs 2,000 a month to being billionaires literally overnight. We know how Manu Chandaria made his money (still much less than the kind of cash these guys pleading innocence have made so quickly). And we also know how Bill Gates and the Google guys made their cash, but pray tell me how did Harun Mwau and William Kabogo make their money? What business is this they do that has stretched to the United States? That million dollar question begging to be answered when people are defending themselves remains unanswered.
Anyway we were talking about women in heinous the drugs trade.
Too many Kenyan women have been enticed into drugs and that is why it was not really surprising to those who know this when President Obama named a woman amongst the drug kingpins targeted for sanctions. Ms Naima Mohamed Nyakiniywa, also known as Mama Lela is no courier or small time peddler. Police reports imply that the woman who was born and raised in extreme poverty in the majengo slums rose through the ranks to become a very major international drug dealer. Not everybody gets mentioned by the president of the United States of America and it is rather obvious he would not have the time of day to mention some small time street corner pusher.
In fact Nyakiniywa has both a Kenyan and Tanzanian passport. The Tanzanian one identifies her as Mwanaidi Ramadhani Mfundo. This lady’s luck seems to have run out because she is currently in the custody of Tanzanian authorities and is being charged in that country for drug trafficking.
Meanwhile Juja legislator William Kabogo has obtained a court order gagging the Standard group from doing articles that relate him to the drugs trade. Kabogo has oobtained an interim injunction restraining The Standard Group from publishing and broadcasting defamatory words against him in relation to violent crimes and drug trafficking. See the story HERE.
John Harun Mwau has also moved to court and yesterday exuded confidence that being named by Obama will have no impact on his international business. He prefers to trade in China these days, he says. Read the story HERE.
How exactly did John Harun Mwau (previously known as John Harun) make his billions?
How the 5 richest Kenyans made their dirty money overnight (not from drugs)
I have a woman friend who had several legit businesses but still amazed us with her huge wealth. Then one day she travelled for business and after about 3 weeks when she didn't return, rumour started she had been arrested in UK Heathrow airport with cocaine.
ReplyDeleteWe later came to find out that she had been jailed for 10 years although she got deported to Kenya after about 5 years.
But this time, her businesses had collapsed and her house re-possessed by the bank while money hungry auctioneers had moved in to seize her assets, even furnitures and beds.
To make things worse, her young family suffered greatly emotionally and financially such that they had to go back to their poverty stricken Ushago.
Even today, that lady is often the butt of jokes, all her friends dumped her faster than a hot potato. She's now trying to rebuild her life after such a hard lesson. Even her Nigerian "friends" disappeared from her sight.
On Mwau's case, he must understand that the most powerful man in the world doesn't just wake up one morning and announce some drug barons without due diligence.
The CIA, FBI, DEA and US Embassy here in Kenya must have a 1,000 page dossier on him backed up by hard facts from KACC and CID.
Since Mwau owns lots of business empires like Nakumatt and Village Market which are managed by some Asian proxies, it will now be illegal for these businesses to trade in American products like Cocacola or do biz with Amero citizens.
That's just but the beginning of Mwau's end despite the chest thumping bravado associated with our politicians. Deep down he knows this is a big one coming and must be giving him some sleepless nights when he thinks what happened to Manuel Antonio Noriega. US now wants all Mwau's vast assets and his hundreds of bank accounts frozen. As they say in the land of the free- it's time to kick ass!
Obama has succeeded in rattling Kibaki'c corrupt Govt for not taking any action against drug barons. Let's remember Okemo and Gichuru are wanted in Jesey, UK for money laundering charges.
The noose is slowly tightening around the formerly untouchables. Even the ICC is after Kibaki's blue eyed boy and five others for crimes against humanity. Will Kibaki play ball? One thing is for sure, the world is watching!
@M.Pesa
ReplyDeleteWhat a comment! It even overshadows the main post. Very eloquent description of the noose tightening slowly but surely around the tough rigid neck of old man impunity.
I enjoyed reading it thoroughly as I am sure others will.
I think Mwau understands very well what is going on. But I think his money blinds him into thinking that this too shall pass.
The US is a super power and u don't f*** with them... whoever u think you are.
Kumekucha Chris
Is drug trade the reason for our Kenyan women's strange behaviors from promiscuous mpango wa kando to explicit dancing at music concerts through to killing their husbands/lovers off balconies for the sake of stealing their wealth?
ReplyDeleteHarun Mwau: Pleaded innocence yesterday but failed to explain how he acquired his billions. Why would Obama or the Americans want to witch hunt a Kenyan businessman?
ReplyDeletexxx
Just a query bwana Chris and M.Pesa. However, firstly, a declaration.
We possess no RELEVANT FACTS on thes matters as they relate to Mwau and co. to form a well INFORMED OPINION as opposed to PREJUDICE.
Having said this, the question to both of you is, has the USA or any of its agencies, ever worked with Mwau in any overt and, or, covert missions/operations?
XXX
M.Pesa wrote:
US now wants all Mwau's vast assets and his hundreds of bank accounts frozen. As they say in the land of the free- it's time to kick ass!
xxx
Well, when we open the Communist Manifesto, we find that, one aspect of Communistic rule SHALL be:
- consfication of property of rebels.
In other words, one man shall be the prosecutor, jury and the judge. Anyway, this may not make a lot of sense, but, remember this:
Rule of law (Natural Rules of Justice) is ESSENTIAL to maintain any civilization. However, when justice gives way to depotism, then, just know the end is near.
No society can survive without DEFINED rules of law that defends the RIGHTS of people, and secure IMPARTIALITY and EQUAL protection of law.
Once we give this, it is simply over for we are back to INQUISITION. Remember, even during the inquisition days, consfication of property was the agenda.
Excellent article Chris ..... and excellent comment M. Pesa @ 2:25 AM
ReplyDeleteChris,
ReplyDeleteCan you also ask how Raila who was a broke fellow made billions after the infamous koorporation with Mois KANU or is Chris only interested in Harun and Kabogo?
This habit of failing to objectively look at vices is what is making Kumekucha not tick.
anon7:09am
ReplyDeleteKumekucha only deals with proven cases.Are you annoyed that Raila is innocent or are you annoyed that his accusers have never been able to prove his guilt?
anon 7;30am,
ReplyDeleteSee the way you run to type without even understanding the context of the question. Mwau has not been found guilty by any court as yet, however, as Chris pointed out, question arise of how a former policeman earning a meager salary of 2,000 Kshs can become a billionaire so quickly. The same way we can ask how a former civil servant Raila earning a meager 7,000 Kshs became a billionaire in under 5 years.
Is that too difficult to understand?
Is that too much to ask?
Are we going to objective for once Kumekucha readers who admire some politicians?
By the way, I do not hold brief for Mwau but I thibk we should expose all the fellows with massive wealth accumulated in dubious ways.
anon 8:41am
ReplyDeleteyou are so quick to jump on Raila that you fail to see you are also guilty of cherry picking your own prejudiced perceived examples of politicians with vices yet you accuse Kumekucha of doing the exact same thing which you are guilty of?
Or is the fact that you already had Raila Odinga trained in your targets too big a speck in your eye that removal is now causing you temporary blindness?
Truly human beings reason best only by comparison
The fundamental flaw in one of Kenya's largest ethnic groups is their love for money which has lead to Hannah Wanjiru (Sammy Wanjiru's mother) chasing folks with a panga at her son's proposed burial site
ReplyDelete