Several moths ago, explosive allegations were levelled against Opposition leader Raila Odinga by billionaire businessman Calvin Burgess, a wealthy American investor who is the CEO of Dominion Farms Ltd – the largest agricultural investment in the Nyanza region.
Burgess claimed that Odinga, his family members and political associates had been trying to extort money from him and had been frustrating his business for refusing to heed to demands that he funds the former Prime Minister’s ODM Party.
Since the damning allegations were made, Odinga has largely remained silent as the issue continues to take a political tangent – providing an opportunity for political rivals to settle scores with the opposition chief.
Considering Odinga's high political status and the position he is seeking to occupy - the Presidency - the weight of the allegations is not one to be swept under the carpet.
His political rivals in the Jubilee side have already called on the Anti-Corruption body and Director of Public Prosecutions to swing into action and probe Odinga over the claims made by Burgess.
Calvin Burgess
If in any case Odinga is found culpable, the eventuality of him facing criminal charges would be disastrous not only to his reputation but his political career as well.
Nonetheless, the not-so-much told story of Burgess and how he came to be closely tied with the Odingas is quite interesting.
Burgess, a Canadian-born Oklahoma arrived in Kenya in September 2002 and was seeking to invest and improve livelihoods in Yala having heard about the plight of people residing in the area.
According to the Dominion CEO, who is a religious man and owns a church, he decided to come to Kenya following a touching testimony about the poverty in Yala made in his Oklahoma church by a woman who had lived there for many years.
In the US, Burgess owned several prison properties and federal buildings in the states of Texas, New Mexico, Kansas and Oklahoma.
Besides construction and leasing, he also ventured into large-scale farming, and aircraft maintenance and leasing, raking in millions of dollars every year in profit.
When he arrived in Kenya, a local clergyman, Rev Ken Nyagudi, who was at the time vying for the Kisumu Town West, helped him mingle and establish a friendly relationship with local politicians, elders and churches. Rev Nyagudi is currently the ODM director of E-fundraising and resource mobilisation.
Rev. Ken Nyagudi
Burgess would later visit the Lake Basin Development Authority (LBDA) which was in charge of the Yala swamp, and after several meetings, LBDA agreed to let the American businessman go ahead and begin the project.
However, before he could get started, the national government took long to approve the investment owing to grievances raised by environmentalists.
This is where the Odinga family came in. Raila’s elder brother, Oburu Odinga with the support of other Nyanza MPs pushed for the approval of the project by challenging the government on the floor of the House.
Despite the project being halted by the then Ministry of Water Resources – under Martha Karua – and Natural Resources – under Newton Kulundu and Prof Wangari Maathai – the ministry of Planning and National Development, then under Prof Anyang’ Nyong’o, gave Dominion the go-ahead.
Regardless of all the challenges he faced, Burgess managed to turn the desolate tsetse fly-infested Yala into a success, prompting then Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo to woo him to invest in Nigeria.
Swamp land of the Yala River where Burgess has invested
In 2012 he agreed to start a rice investment in Nigeria but he was later forced to give up the project owing to corruption and dirty politics that at some point saw him arrested and detained.
Meanwhile, while the Dominos Farm has largely contributed towards Kenya's economic growth including the creation of employment for many, it remains to be seen how the current contention will end considering the politics and powerplay now surrounding the project.
