Investigative Journalist, John Allan Namu, has come out to reveal why he has not confronted President Uhuru Kenyatta over the leaked Pandora Papers that linked his family to offshore accounts in Panama and the British Virgin Islands.
President Uhuru, during a United Nations Security Council meeting in the United States of America on October 12, had promised to give a comprehensive response regarding the leaked papers when he got back to the country.
However, one month down the line, the head of state is yet to keep his promise and answer many questions that were raised after the financial leaks. Kenyatta’s family was linked to offshore bank accounts and companies valued at over Ksh3.3 billion.
Namu speaking to a local monthly publication has disclosed why he also decided to take a step back regarding the matter.
Justifying his move, Namu stated that together with Africa Uncensored, he decided to take that step as confronting Uhuru would portray them as having a personal vendetta against the Kenyatta family.
He further added that the move would perceive them as bitter and shrill.
“I feel like people are being deliberately obtuse about this whole story. The President said he would respond comprehensively when he got back from the international trip he was on. This is a promise he made at a UN meeting, so arguably, in front of the world. He’s been back for a while now, but who’s asking for that response?" Namu posed.
He added, "If [Africa Uncensored] alone has to do the follow-up, we end up sounding shrill and bitter, like we have a personal axe to grind with the President’s family, and we don’t. It’s that this is the biggest story of the year."
The veteran journalist reiterated that days after exposing Kenyatta's family, he felt alone.
"In the weeks after the story came out, I felt like I was left alone twisting in the wind.”
He further decried that other media practitioners failed to ask the right questions while analysing the financial leaks but instead focused on other non-issues.
Through the expose, he explained that he expected the president to respond to specific questions detailing why his family chose secret avenues to stash wealth abroad.
"Why the secrecy? Why do the Kenyatta’s have to go through three separate layers of firms, with nominee directors and convoluted structures, in high secrecy jurisdictions? What benefit is there in this?"
Uhuru had earlier stated that the findings would set the record straight and unveil secrets for those who cannot explain sources of their wealth.
"These reports will go a long way in enhancing the financial transparency and openness that we require in Kenya and around the globe. The movement of illicit funds, proceeds of crime and graft thrive in an environment of secrecy and darkness," stated the President.
