Ruto ally Aden Duale records statement with DCI, faces imminent arrest -

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Jubilee Majority Leader in the National Assembly Aden Duale has recorded a statement with police with authorities who are now on the verge of arresting him for tax evasion and other economic crimes.

Duale who also doubles as the Garissa Constituency Member of Parliament was reported to have been quizzed by DCI sleuths over what sources told Kenyan News Day was to shed more light on the business activities of his import and export companies which trade with state corporations and government departments.

Duale statement is a culmination of an extensive probe that the Directorate of Criminal Investigations has been at the Kenya Revenue Authority Nairobi headquarters and Mombasa offices for much of last year.

According to sources at the DCI, security forces were forced to suspend arresting Duale and a number of his close business associates following a major terrorist attack in Nairobi on Tuesday afternoon, we can authoritatively report.

The outspoken Garissa MP who has often branded himself as the third most powerful individual after President Kenyatta and his Deputy William Ruto, has lately remained uncharacteristically quiet amidst a rapidly changing political space.

Family sources told us Duale had decided to take a low profile and leave his fate in the hands of President Kenyatta whom he believes is the only person who can save him from his troubles with the law.

In much of 2018, forensic accounting detectives drawn from the DCI have camped at the KRA to probe multi-billion shilling tax evasion racket and payment of kickbacks to allow contraband goods into the local market.

The DCI conducted a similar investigation at Kenya Ports Authority.

Consequently, toward the end of the year, the DCI arrested and charged in court 32 top officials from KRA and the KPA over corrupt practices.

Because of his status as Jubilee Majority Leader, Duale believed the arrests would never reach him. It was a huge mistake of underestimating President Kenyatta’s resolve in fighting corruption.

The investigation was ordered by President Uhuru Kenyatta after he received intelligence dossier of massive theft and irregularities at KRA which has over the years failed to attain tax collection targets.

Apart from numerous trading companies, Duale is also an accomplished hotelier owning several imposing hotels in Garissa, Nairobi and Mombasa.

Speaking on condition of anonymity, a source close to the investigation told Kenyan News Day that Duale and several of his close-knit associates were interviewed by police on orders of DCI Director George Kinoti who had initially personally led a team of sleuths to the KRA headquarters for two consecutive days, before delegating the task to the Nairobi head of DCI Nicholas Kamwende.

At the moment, Duale’s political career hangs by the thread as the government attention focuses on piecing together circumstances leading up to a terror attack that unfolded at a large upmarket complex, which houses the DusitD2 hotel and spa, exclusive offices, shops and banks along Nairobi’s Riverside Drive.

Duale’s political benefactor Deputy President William Ruto is himself fighting the political battle of his life as President Kenyatta moves to steady his government with the help of NASA leader Raila Odinga.