Is Kenya capable of seizing properties from south Sudan leaders?
According to Sentry , a US-based team of financial forensic specialists , South Sudan President Salva Kiir owns a family home in Nairobi’s upscale Lavington neighbourhood, as does South Sudan rebel chief Riek Machar.
Paul Malong, former chief of staff of the South Sudan army, maintains a KSH200 Million mansion in the gated Nyari Estate, the group adds, noting that Mr Malong was paid about KSH 4.5million a year in his military leadership position.
Mr Malong, who led an army accused of massive human rights violations, also owns two luxury homes in Uganda, The Sentry states.
The US-based team has criticized the Kenyan government for not investigating South Sudan leaders’ purchases of luxury homes in Nairobi.
The non-governmental investigative unit ,Sentry, noted on that in 2016 its analysts had publicly identified high-priced properties in both Kenya and Uganda acquired by South Sudanese involved in a civil war that has killed tens of thousands and pushed millions out of the country or to the brink of starvation.
Kenya however rejected pressure from the United States to seize the properties of South Sudanese leaders that were allegedly bought with proceeds from corruption, money laundering and war profits.
Officials from Kenya’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said the country was happy to share intelligence with the US on illicit money flows from South Sudan, but it had to establish mechanisms for verifying the reports provided by Washington DC.
Foreign Affairs Principal Secretary Macharia Kamau further said Kenya was capable of seizing properties from illicit proceeds but will only act within the context of international practices through the United Nations conventions and the Bretton Woods institutions.
“Kenya knows its obligations in regards to corruption and money laundering, and is working closely with the international community on the same. However, we work with multilateral platforms and don’t take instructions from other sovereign states,” Mr Kamau said.
Kenya and Uganda do have the legal tools needed to investigate the suspect real-estate transactions and, if warranted, to seize those properties, The Sentry says.
The group notes that information it had provided led Australian authorities to initiate the seizure earlier this year of a Melbourne home owned by former South Sudanese Gen James Hoth Mai.
The Sentry is urging the Kenyan government to “follow Australia’s model to investigate unexplained wealth.”
“With support from NGOs, domestic banks and US law enforcement, Kenya — East Africa’s banking capital and home to a large South Sudanese diaspora — is well-placed to take the lead in pursuing potentially corrupt assets,” The Sentry adds.
The Trump administration recently proposed freezing assets and imposing other sanctions on six South Sudanese leaders accused of blocking progress toward ending the country’ ruinous four-year civil war.
The US has previously sanctioned other South Sudanese said to be responsible for large-scale human right abuses.