Nicholas Biwott’s Associates

Nicholas Biwott has no link whatsoever with Horatious Da Gama Rose. Mr Mirabeau Da Gama-Rose was Mr Biwott’s legal advisor

– Biwotts Lawyer

KROLL ON BIWOTT – NICHOLAS BIWOTT’S ASSOCIATES

The Kroll Report also made several allegations in respect of Nicholas Biwott’s supposed ‘associates’.

KROLL ON BIWOTT AND HORATIUS DA GAMMA ROSE

The Kroll Report states that: Mr Horatius da Gama Rose ‘is one of the lawyers who represents Biwott’s interests’, that da Gama Rose ‘has been involved in questionable links’ and ‘been given a questionable contract’ by the Kenya treasury. The Kroll Report therefore explicitly and implicitly links Nicholas Biwott to Mr Horatius da Gama Rose’s alleged wrongdoings.

DID KROLL GET IT RIGHT?

Biwott’s lawyer said: Kroll got the wrong lawyer. Horatious da Gama Rose is not and never has been Nicholas Biwott’s lawyer. Nicholas Biwott has no link whatsoever with Horatious Da Gama Rose. Mr Mirabeau Da Gama-Rose was Mr Biwott’s legal advisor. There is and never has been any business or professional link between Mr Horatios Da Gama Rose and Mr Mirabeau Da Gama Rose. They have the same surname but worked for different law firms.

THE SOURCE INVESTIGATES…

The Source has found no evidence during the course of our research to suggest that Horatius da Gama Rose has acted for Biwott as his lawyer. Instead, according to the East African Standard in January 2005, Horatius da Gama Rose was widely believed to represent the business interests of former president Moi and Moody Awori, a long-serving KANU MP and minister, and Kenya’s vice-president 2003-08.

The Source’s research seems to confirm that it was a Mirabeau da Gama Rose who was one of Biwott’s lawyers representing him in court proceedings and sitting on the board of a company in which Biwott has a shareholding, Pete Aviation & Electronics Ltd.

It appears that the authors of the Kenya Kroll Report confused Horatius da Gama Rose with Mirabeau da Gama Rose.

KROLL ON BIWOTT, AKBER ESMAIL AND NAUSHAD MERALI

The Kroll Report states that: According to ‘Source A’, Mr Akber Esmail was used as a nominee to purchase Middle East Bank and that together with Mr Naushad Merali, ‘one of the richest Asian businessmen in Kenya’ and ‘a significant player’ who ‘has been involved in deals with’, among others, Daniel Arap Moi, James Kanyotu (former head of Kenya’s Special Branch) and Horatious Da Gama Rose, held ‘over 90 percent of assets owned by Biwott’.

DID KROLL GET IT RIGHT?

Biwott’s lawyer said: Akber Esmail acted as a nominee for Nicholas Biwott in his capacity as a lawyer (as lawyers often do for their clients).

Naushad Merali had no and has no business relationship with Nicholas Biwott.

THE SOURCE INVESTIGATES…

The Source has not found any evidence during the course of our research to suggest that Naushad Merali acted as a nominee for Biwott nor did we find any reference in the press to a specific business venture undertaken between Biwott and Merali.

KROLL ON BIWOTT AND CHARLES FIELD-MARSHAM

The Kroll Report states that: Mr Charles Field-Marsham, Nicholas Biwott’s son-in-law, ‘used to manage the Ya Ya Centre and is now in Canada’, ‘has a lot of Biwott’s money’ and is ‘the executive of the following Biwott companies’, including, ‘Lima Ltd, Safaricom Kenya, Pete Aviation & Electronics Ltd’.

DID KROLL GET IT RIGHT?

Biwott’s lawyer said: Charles Field-Marsham was on the board of Ya Ya, Lima and Kenol Kobil. These are the only business relationships between Mr Field-Marsham and Mr Biwott.

Nicholas Biwott is not involved in any way with any of Charles Field-Marsham’s business interests.

Nicholas Biwott does not own, and has never owned property in Canada.

Charles Field-Marsham does not hold any money or assets for Nicholas Biwott, or ‘front’ any businesses for him in Canada or anywhere else.

THE SOURCE INVESTIGATES…

The Source did not find any evidence during the course of our research to support the claim that Charles Field-Marsham used to manage the Yaya Centre. The list of managers of ‘Yaya Towers’ and the ‘Yaya Centre’ [find a list of Yaya managers here] was easily obtained by The Source (and surely could have been by Kroll) and Field-Marsham’s does not appear on it.

Although it is apparent that Field-Marsham sat on the board of some companies associated with Biwott, The Source did not identify any evidence during the course of our research that there is any cross shareholding between Biwott and Charles Field-Marsham.

It is further alleged in the Kenya Kroll Report that corporate records indicate that Field-Marsham is listed as the executive of Lima, Safaricom Kenya and Pete Aviation & Electronics.

According to The Source’s research through corporate searches and company registry records that we have obtained, there is no indication that Charles Field-Marsham ever held a board position at Safaricom, or was an executive of Lima and Pete Aviation & Electronics. This raises the question as to whether Kroll’s claim to have obtained contrary information from corporate records was purely an error, or manipulation of the report’s wording in order to appear authoritative.