Senator denies involvement in alleged gold scam

Trans Nzoia Senator Allan Chesang and his lawyer Otiende Amollo at the DCI headquarters on Monday, October 16, 2023. [Jonah Onyango, Standard]

Trans Nzoia senator Allan Chesang, on Monday, presented himself at the DCI headquarters along Kiambu Road, a day after he was linked to a gold scam syndicate said to involve millions of shillings.

The senator denied allegations by DCI boss Mohammed Amin that linked him to three suspects who were earlier arrested and are being interrogated.

The suspects, Fauzia Wanjiru alias Issa, Shallo Fatma alias Tett and Jackson Ochieng, were arrested in Nairobi on Sunday, according to the DCI

The senator, who was accompanied by his lawyer, has denied knowledge of a scheme by people close to him to defraud a South African national of an unspecified amount of cash in a dubious gold sale racket.

Chesang has maintained that he was only engaged in legitimate businesses. He had earlier threatened to sue the DCI for linking him to the racket.

Mr Amin, in a message posted on the DCI's X account, said the police had arrested three suspects at the posh Runda estate in a crackdown on gold scammers.

The arrest, according to the DCI, happened only hours before an alleged final meeting to seal a deal in the fraudulent gold transactions.

Chesang said: "It is so unfortunate for the body that should be protecting us to circulate false information about someone without following up to know the truth behind it:"

The senator also accused the DCI of defamation and stated that the action by the DCI had injured him and would lead his business to collapse.

He said the DCI should have called him to get more information on the issue or do more investigation since it is their work.

He said that the move is politically driven and seeks to target his businesses to bring them down as he called for justice to be done.

Lawyer Otiende Amollo, who represented the senator as he presented himself before the DCI, said Chesang's lawyers are going to take legal action against the DCI for tarnishing the lawmaker's reputation.

"We are going to issue a demand letter today to the Directorate of Criminal Investigations to explain what they were up to and we need feedback within seven days. That was not right," Otiende said.

He said the statement posted on DCI's X handle was malicious and is punishable by law.