Moi’s son, Kenyan companies making money from S. Sudan conflict - report

The senator of Baringo County in Kenya, Mr Gideon Moi is among a group of powerful international businessmen and multinational companies who are profiting from the ongoing conflict in South Sudan, a new report claims.
The report titled “The Taking of South Sudan” was prepared by the Sentry, a non-profit investigative team founded by American actor George Clooney to monitor conflicts in Africa.

Stakes
The 64-page report alleges that South Sudan President Salva Kiir and his family own stakes in banks, foreign exchange bureaus, airlines, oil companies, logistics firms, private security companies among others, mainly through partnerships with investors from across the globe.
It alleges that Senator Moi has a stake in a South Sudan-registered firm Lukiza Ltd, which formed a joint venture called Caltec Corporation with Conex Energy, a company allegedly controlled by President Kiir’s daughter Adut.

“Just two months after the December 2013 massacres in Juba, Conex Energy, a company controlled by Kiir’s daughter Adut, his son-in-law Nardos Ghebeyehu and Akot Lual Arech — a close adviser to the President affiliated with the NSS (National Security Services) — formed the joint venture Caltec Corporation with South Sudan-registered Lukiza Limited,” said the report.

It added: “Gideon Moi, an influential senator, who is the son of former Kenyan President Daniel arap Moi, has a partial ownership stake in Lukiza. Caltec’s website describes the firm as a Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) to specifically engage in the provision of services in the oil sector, waste management, drilling, logistics and air transportation are among the services it says it provides.’”
In response, the Senator through his aide Alex Kiprotich, on Saturday dismissed the report as “work of fantasy and fiction”.

Legal suit
“I am not a shareholder of the company and I have never and I am not profiting from the proceeds of war as alleged in the fictitious report. I have neither received any single cent from the government of South Sudan nor am I doing any business with the South Sudan government. My lawyers are already in the process of instituting legal proceedings against The Sentry and its authors,” he said.
His father, retired President Moi, was instrumental in mediating the South Sudan peace process when he was president from 1978 to 2002 and has maintained close contacts with the country’s leaders since then.

In May, President Kiir visited Mr Moi at his home in Kabarak to condole with him following the passing of his first born son Jonathan. According to a statement released from the office of the former president, the two leaders also talked about peace initiatives.
Another Kenyan businessman mentioned in the report as having close business links with members of South Sudan’s first family is Krupa Patel, who is alleged to have formed a consortium called Finejet S.S. Limited with Kenyan oil supplier Finejet Africa Holdings Limited. President Kiir’s daughter Adut is alleged to have a stake in the consortium.

Displaced
A fellow Kenyan businessman mentioned in the report as having business ties with President Kiir’s family is Abdikadir Osman Ahmed, who is alleged to co-own a company called Cannington Investment with another of President Kiir’s daughters called Anok.
As far as international partnerships go, the report alleges that, in March 2016, three Chinese citizens — He Yuheng, Chen Huiping and Chen Yongqiang — partnered with President Kiir’s daughter Winnie to launch Fortune Minerals and Construction Ltd in South Sudan. Six weeks after Fortune Minerals received its licence in the Amadi State city of Mundri, government troops reportedly destroyed health centres, committed mass rapes and forcibly displaced tens of thousands of people.

Civil war
Selling weapons. Overall, the report alleges members of President Kiir’s immediate family are shareholders and directors in companies alongside dozens of foreign nationals of 13 different countries, among them Australia, the United States of America, Canada, Britain and China.
The report alleges that American arms dealer Ara Dolarian tried to sell weapons worth $43 million to General Paul Malong, the much-feared former chief of general staff of South Sudan Peoples’ Liberation Army who was sacked by President Kiir in 2017.

Prolonging war. According to the report, Gen Malong, who is under United Nations sanctions for his alleged role in prolonging the civil war, was in the process of forming an armed opposition movement in Kenya after falling out with the government in Juba. “An invoice on Dolarian Capital letterhead addressed to Paul Malong lists $43.2 million worth of weapons and ammunition, including mortar systems, RPG launchers, assault rifles and ZU-23 mobile anti-aircraft guns,” said the report.

According to the invoice, the Sentry report said, the weapons were to be sold to First Monetary Security Limited, a Kenyan company ostensibly linked to Malong, thus “illustrating how foreign companies can be used to facilitate weapons transfers.” This attempted weapons deal suggests that Malong retained access to significant amount of funds following his departure from Juba, said The Sentry report.

Stealing. “When he was stopped outside of Juba in May 2017, Malong was carrying the equivalent of millions of US dollars in cash allegedly stolen from the SPLA treasury,” said the Sentry dossier.
Since he used a Kenyan company to set up the deal, the Sentry suggested that Kenya could potentially investigate the company involved and the source of funds.
Reports by the organisation claimed Gen Malong maintains a $2 million mansion in Nairobi’s upscale gated Nyari Estate, as well as two luxury homes in Uganda.