The Kenyan Ministry of Foreign Affairs says the Enough Project’s report on illicit financial flows from South Sudan to the country is a mere speculation.
Nearly 2 years ago, an investigation by Enough Project’s, The Sentry identified properties in Nairobi and Kampala in the possession of South Sudanese current and former senior officials.
Early this week, it urged Kenya, Uganda and the US to investigate and seize corruption proceeds from South Sudan that have been invested in real estate in the region.
“We cannot start responding and supposedly acting on the basis of speculations. We don’t know what this report is. We don’t know how this report was developed,” Ababu Namwamba, the Chief Administrative Secretary at Kenya’s MFA told Eye Radio in an exclusive interview.
The Enough Project said the two neighbors of South Sudan have the legal authority and means to locate, investigate, and — if warranted — seize these properties.
It said the integrity of the regional banking system continues to be under threat from its ongoing exploitation.
The research group recommended that East Africa’s Banks could proactively flag high-value real estate transactions and increase due diligence measures when transacting with Juba-based government officials, their families, and their proxies.
However, Mr Namwamba said his government has not been formally informed of the investigations.
He said Kenya will not respond unless facts are provided by the research group.
“This so-called report has not even been communicated to us. And when the said report is made available formally through the accepted procedural channels, then we can be able to make a substantial steps,” he stressed.
Kenya cannot be threatened by amorphous sanctions
This week, the U.S. Department of the Treasury Undersecretary for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence Sigal Mandelker visited Kenya, Uganda and the DRC.
The Enough Project called on her to reiterate that failure by Uganda and Kenya to address flow of corruption gains from South Sudan will be met with an escalating set of pressures.
“We are not in a position where Kenya can be casually threatened with amorphous sanctions based on speculative reports that we don’t even know the head or tail of,” said Mr Namwamba
“It is actually presumptuous and premature to start talking of sanctions on the basis of a matter that has not even been made available formally.”
He urged the US to use diplomatic means while engaging with Kenya.