Raila toying with Kenyans on Eurobond issue – President Kenyatta

President Uhuru Kenyatta has called on the Coalition for Reforms and Democracy (CORD) leader, Raila Odinga, to substantiate allegations that some proceeds from Eurobond were stolen.

Speaking at the State House Accountability Summit on Tuesday, October 18, President Kenyatta said it was wrong for the CORD leader to make such grave allegations without backing them with facts saying that using the matter to gain political mileage was unwarranted.

“When a political leader stands before Kenyans and claim that Eurobond money was stolen, he should be asked to produce evidence to back his claims.”

“Such allegations mean that the Treasury and the Federal Reserve Bank of New York in the United States colluded to steal the money. Who is fooling who here?” questioned Uhuru.

He urged political leaders to hold their campaign based on sincerity saying using corruption as a weapon against others is not beneficial to any quarter.

“Let us not use corruption for politics. We want to fight corruption because it hurts Kenyans and the Kenyan economy,” said President Uhuru Kenyatta.

He also asked the media to be wary of what they report regarding corruption saying anyone with allegations that they want prosecuted in court should produce evidence.

In a statement to media houses on Sunday, October 16, Raila accused the government of failing to account for some money from the first Eurobond issued in June 2014 that reportedly raised a gross amount of Ksh 200 billion and a further Ksh 81.5 billion from a “tap sales” re-opening in December the same year.

He further noted that the Auditor General had failed to ascertain the receipt of USD2,419,016,127.10 (Ksh 215.5 billion) with a disclaimer on the receipt, accounting and use of Eurobond proceeds over 28 months after it was received in an offshore account in New York.

The CORD leader urged foreign investors to keep off a second Eurobond that Kenya plans to float in the international market until concerns raised over the first Eurobond are addressed.

“The government and the National Treasury have persistently failed to accurately account for the net proceeds of the Eurobond. The failures constitute material and significant breaches of the Constitution of Kenya 2010 and the Public Finance Management Act 2012,” said Odinga.

“The government and more specifically the National Treasury failed to deposit net proceeds of the Eurobond amounting to US$1,999,052,872.97 (Ksh 173.9 billion) into the Consolidated Fund as required by law.”

President Kenyatta also dismissed an apparent plan by the Auditor General, Edward Ouko, to interrogate officials at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York over the alleged loss of Eurobond money obliquely hinting at the impossibility of the task.

“I’ve heard that he (Ouko) wants to go to the Federal Reserve Bank of New York to interrogate the case of Eurobond. Are we really serious with what we are doing?” he asked of the move.

Auditor General Edward Ouko however reaffirmed the importance of interrogating officials at the Federal Bank of New York in a bid to create a comprehensive report on Eurobond proceeds.

“We want a report which is clear on every aspect and for me to be able to do that, I have to get the side of the story from all parties involved.”

Claims of the theft of Eurobond have been a thorn in the Jubilee administration with the opposition coalition CORD using it in their campaign rallies to depict the lack of transparency in the government.

Raila has in several rallies claimed that the Eurobond money was received aboard and stolen there saying the only thing that Kenyans received from the proceeds was debt.

“Right now everyone in this country has a debt hovering over their head, even the unborn child. The moment they are born, they are slapped with the Ksh85,000 debt , all because of the theft of Eurobond money,” said Raila at a rally in Kakamega in September.

Early this year, Raila named several individuals in and out of government suspected of benefiting from the Eurobond proceeds.

Jubilee has, however, refuted the claims saying the money was injected in various development projects in the country.