Former Sports Cabinet Secretary Rashid Echesa has revealed the reason why he needed no permission to visit the Deputy President William Ruto’s office.
Speaking to NTV, Echesa said that he and the Deputy President are friends and therefore, he doesn’t need an appointment to have a meeting with him.
“The Deputy President is my friend. We’ve been friends for a very long time and I don’t need an appointment to see him.” Echesa said.
“And to add on that, I have been a cabinet minister in this government. So if someone wants to tell me that we have been doing deals, let them table evidence.” He added.
The Deputy President is my friend. We'e been friends for a long time and I don't need an appointment to see the DP.#EchesaSpeaks @MelMyendo pic.twitter.com/bK68RkHYRE
— NTV Kenya (@ntvkenya) February 18, 2020
Echesa, who is accused of getting into a fake contract with foreign investors dealing with military equipment, allegedly used the DP’s office and the signature of Defence Cabinet Secretary Amb. Monica Juma to cut a fraudulent multi-billion shilling military deal.
CCTV footage taken from the DP’s office on Friday positively identified two of his aides as having been present on when Echesa met officials from Echo Advanced Technologies, an American Company, over the deal.
However, the DP denied having an appointment with Echesa and his team, adding that he never stepped in his office at Harambee House Annex on the day when the former sports minister visited.
The former CS was arrested on Thursday, February 13, by Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) detectives over a Sh39 billion fake military tender.
Echesa was charged on Monday at the Milimani Law Courts alongside three people, Daniel Otieno, Clifford Okoth and Kennedy Oyoo.
They all denied charges of conspiring to commit a crime, making a document without authority, obtaining money by pretence, attempting to commit a crime and uttering a false document.