Parliament House Teams Probe Director of Jamhuri Holdings As Telkom Buyback Inquiry Resumes
Jamhuri Holdings/Helios Investment Partners Paul Cunningham during yesterday's session yesterday.
By PPT
Worth Noting:
- According to the British citizen who had to submit his passport to the committee for verification of his identity, his dealings with Telkom Kenya have fully been through email since the inception of the buyout in 2007 by Helios/Jamhuri holdings. The Committee was taken aback by his claims that he that he had never met any board member at Telkom Kenya despite the huge dealings with the telco.
- Asked by Keiyo South MP, David Kimaiyo there was any involvement by former President Uhuru Kenyatta in the controversial transaction; Mr. Cunningham told the legislators that he was not aware of any involvement by the former head of state in the transaction.
The inquiry into the Telkom buyback resumed yesterday with one the key witnesses into the probe that has been running for the last several weeks taking the witness stand before the Joint-sitting of the Departmental Committee on Finance and National Planning, and the Committee on Communication, Information and Innovation.
In the sitting, Co-chaired by Kimani Kuria MP, (Molo) and John Kiarie MP, (Dagoretti South) respectively this morning, the Committee received a witness statement from Mr Paul Cunningham, the Chief Finance Officer and Director of Jamhuri Holdings Ltd / Helios Investment Partners Ltd, accompanied by his lawyers Daniel Ngumy and Anne Kiunuhe.
Mr. Cunningham a citizen of United Kingdom, and whom the Committee had earlier invited but was a no show, started by rendering his apologies for the no-show. He explained to the Commission that at the time of the Commission’s invitation he did not have a Kenyan Visa to enable him to travel to Nairobi and that his family was bereaved following the demise of his mother-in law.
The legislators had sought an audience with the Director, who has largely been mentioned by respondents that have appeared before the joint-committee, as having reportedly signed off all correspondences on behalf of Helios/Jamhuri Ltd in the transaction for the Kenyan government to buyback Telkom Kenya.
Following Cunnigham’s submissions before the lawmakers, the Committee expressed concerns that despite the large sum of money involved in the transaction, the Director/CFO claimed not to have had any personal contact with anybody from Telkom Kenya and neither were there any forms of communication between Telkom and himself, save for e-mails.
“As director I was not involved in any of the negotiations of the buyback, neither was I involved in the day-to-day decision makings of the process” said Cunnigham.
According to the British citizen who had to submit his passport to the committee for verification of his identity, his dealings with Telkom Kenya have fully been through email since the inception of the buyout in 2007 by Helios/Jamhuri holdings. The Committee was taken aback by his claims that he that he had never met any board member at Telkom Kenya despite the huge dealings with the telco.
Asked by Keiyo South MP, David Kimaiyo there was any involvement by former President Uhuru Kenyatta in the controversial transaction; Mr. Cunningham told the legislators that he was not aware of any involvement by the former head of state in the transaction.
“There was absolutely no direct involvement of the former president in this matter. I never directly or indirectly dealt with him, and neither is he a shareholder of any of the mentioned companies,” Cunningham told the MPs.
The committee heard that the decision to sell back the 70% shareholding of Telkom Kenya by Jamhuri holdings to the government in July 2021 was prompted by the failure to attain shareholder alignment on the company’s strategic direction and the GoK’s disapproval of a possible merger transaction with Airtel Kenya, amounting to possible major losses.
“When was the request submitted to the Board of Telkom Kenya before the same was transmitted to the National Treasury? Do you believe all due processes were followed before you were hastily paid this money?’ posed Kimani Kuria (Chairperson, Finance Committee).
According to Cunningham, to the best of his knowledge as CFO and Director of Jamhuri holdings which were the recipient of the KShs 6.09 billion paid, all the necessary approvals were achieved prior to the buyback of his stake in the telco by the Kenyan government.
The Director also told the Committee that according to Jamhuri holdings, their records show that the government of Kenya now owns 100% of the Telkom Kenya shares, refuting earlier claims by the Solicitor General that the company ownership is yet to be transferred.
At the same time, the Director has revealed that the current top management of Telkom Kenya, excluding board members, were paid some compensation from the fees paid for the buyback, making them direct beneficiaries of the transaction.
Upon prompting by Kuria, Mr Cunningham further disclosed to the Committee that the Company’s (Jamhuri Holdings Ltd) accounts in Mauritius were frozen two weeks ago. He however pointed out that the company had commenced a follow up on that matter as he was certain there were no suspicious transactions through the account. He also told the Members that the bank was yet to Communicate why it had taken that action.
“Yes our account in Mauritius has been frozen but we shall follow that through since there are suspicious transactions through the account”’ admitted Cunningham.
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