The inquiry into the Telkom buyback resumed this morning with one of the key witnesses into the probe that has been running for several weeks taking the witness stand before the Joint-sitting of the Departmental Committee on Communication, Information and Innovation, and the Departmental Committee on Finance and National Planning.

In the sitting, co-chaired by Hon Kimani Kuria MP, (Molo) and Hon John Kiarie MP, (Dagoretti South), the Committee received a witness statement from Mr. Paul Cunningham, the Chief Finance Officer (CFO) and Director of Jamhuri Holdings Ltd, a break-out company of Helios Investment Partners Ltd. The Director was accompanied by his lawyers Mr. Daniel Ngumy and Ms. Anne Kiunuhe. 

Mr. Cunningham, a citizen of the 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 Members that at the time of the Committee’s invitation he did not have a Kenyan Visa to enable him to travel to Nairobi and that his family was bereaved. 

The legislators 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, 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 a 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 Mr. 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 had never met any Board member at Telkom Kenya despite the huge dealings with the telco. 

Asked by Hon. David Kimaiyo (Keiyo South) whether 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,” Mr. Cunningham said.

Additionally, the Committee was told 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 Government o Kenya's (GoK’s) disapproval of a possible merger transaction with Airtel Kenya, resulting 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 Hon. Kuria.

According to Mr. Cunningham, all the necessary approvals were achieved prior to the buyback of his stake in the telco by the GoK. The Director also told the Committee that according to the records of Jamhuri holdings GoK now owns 100% of the Telkom Kenya shares, refuting earlier claims by the Solicitor General that the company ownership was yet to be transferred.

At the same time, the Director 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 Hon. Kuria, Mr. Cunningham further disclosed 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 no suspicious transactions through that account”, said Mr. Cunningham.