'Indo who?'
“Indo who?” …was the common question on many Kenyan lips on hearing that the little-known company had pulled through a $180 million deal in Arusha.
Since then, questions have continued to be asked about the multibillion-shilling deal, especially coming at a time when Kenya is in the middle of a crusade to clean up its financial services sector that has more recently been discredited by the flow of millions of suspect funds.
Official registration documents show that Indo Power is a two-year old firm based in Thika town on the outskirts of Nairobi that was not known to have transacted any deals worth more than $10 million. Its owners are virtually unknown in Kenya’s big business community and its chief executive is better known in political deal making circles.
The EastAfrican investigations, including a search at the Registrar of Companies, found that Indo Power, which was registered in October 2016, claims to have offices in Indo House’s “Ground Floor, Room 6, Kisii Road, Thika.” Its directors, Joyce Waithira Gatoho Muigai and Alice Wanjiku Gatoho, jointly own 1,000 shares with a nominal share capital of Ksh100,000 ($1,000).
Mr Mutembei told The EastAfrican this week that the company was registered in 2008 and incorporated in 2016 and the directors are his mother and his wife.
The EastAfrican could, however, not locate Indo House in Thika.
“We attended the signing of the deal because that was part of the economic diplomacy, which the mission is obligated to support. The fact that Tanzania is a grower should interest its neighbours and, as a mission, we are happy to see a Kenyan company clinch this deal. It is in our interest to nurture relations, including trade between the two countries. However, I cannot go into the specifics of the deal. I would advise you to reach out to Brian for that,” Mr Kazungu said.
It has not been lost on keen observers that a firm that is outward looking and active in international trade has no online presence.
Official registration records also indicate that Indo Power has no bankers, no lawyers, no auditors, and no company secretary.
Mr Mutembei however reckoned that “the company has expertise in connecting Tanzania with the buyers of the produce,” a pointer to the fact that it may have merely acted as a broker.
So, who is behind it and where is the money coming from? Which banks would finance such a mega deal?