“Merali was paying a bribe to Uhuru for a tender and it is clearly something he has done for many years. Merali owns the Sameer Group and is an 18% shareholder of Commercial Bank of Africa. So Merali knew it wasn’t unusual for a sitting Kenyan President to ask for a bribe,” further wrote.
According to the Bribery Act 2016, giving, receiving or engaging in activities that enable bribery attracts conviction leading to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 10 years or a fine not exceeding Ksh5 million, or both. In addition, the courts may impose an additional mandatory fine if the person incurred quantifiable loss or benefit. Under the law, Butt is equally, therefore, liable for the offence.
It in surprising how a high-flying figure such as Merali could easily fall for a dubious deal. Confederation of Consumers of Kenya (Cofek) says it can only happened if the President has never called him using his direct line, which is unlikely. “… he probably has never been called directly by President Kenyatta. And that would explain potential excitement which his scammers over-exploited,” the watchdog notes.
The suspects are alleged to have registered a Safaricom line, 0722 208842, in his name. According to Cofek, if the President had previously called, Merali would probably have saved his number. In court, the suspects’ lawyer Cliff Ombeta claimed the number belonged to Uhuru and that he had been tongue-lashed through it prior to the incident. He said Uhuru should be called as a witness.