Kazini Denies, Accepts Papers

The Acting Army Commander James Kazini yesterday appeared before the Commission into the Congo plunder headed by Justice David Porter. Other Commissioners are Justice Joseph Berko and retired UN official John Rwambuya. 10:30am. The lead Counsel is Allan Shonubi. At first his lawyer Capt. Kanyogonya says Kazini is still in transit to the Commission but Porter says he was already at the Conference Centre and demands to know where exactly he was. The lawyer offers to go out and look for Kazini or ring his ADC and takes long to return. The Judge adjourns the Commission briefly and Kazini comes in at 11.00am. Anne Mugisa and Hamisi Kaheru recorded the proceedings.Porter: Captain what was your name again?Kanyogonya: Captain Kanyogonya my lord.Porter: What happened when you went out to call the general?Kanyogonya: I could not get...Porter: Why didn’t you come to tell us?Kanyogonya: I talked to the Secretary (Lawyer Bisereko) and also the lead counsel (Shonubi). The Army Commander was already here.Porter: I can see him... We are not talking about his conduct but yours....(Kanyogonya apologises) Good morning Maj. Gen. We are glad to see you at last...Kazini: I arrived from Gulu slightly after 10.00am and went up to prepare myself. (Porter grills him as to why he did not tell the Commission about the intended delay and he apologised.)Shonubi: Look at the letter you produced appointing a lady Lotsove as Governor. You will note from that letter, you pointed out a number of things to concerning politics, democracy the economy.... Was that letter drafted by you?Kazini: Yes.Shonubi: Was that your signature?Kazini: Yes.Porter: We have other documents here. (reads) you don’t seem to be very literate, but we are surprised that you expressed yourself like this. Is this yours?Kazini: Yes.Porter: There is no other person’s input?Kazini: No.Berko: This lady Adelle (Lotsove) she only conferred with you and solicited security....?Kazini: That lady was a Vice governor in Kisangani. I was in Bunya and there was a lot of breakdown of law and order and therefore she wanted introduction. I agreed to write for her...I was in Kisangani then...Porter: In the forest?Kazini: That is LaForeste. We had our headquarters at a factory at LaForeste...She made herself governor...She had been appointed deputy governor by RCD Goma...So I provided security.Porter: She said there was agreement between the UPDF and the RPA as regards to security.Kazini: We didn’t have time to go into that. In Bunya there was no Rwandese in Kisangani. The Rwandese were there before us. So we didn’t have anything to do with appointments.Porter: So she lobbied you on this?Kazini: AbsolutelyShonubi: You recall we talked of a soldier, Okumu. What was his rank then?Kazini: Leutenant.Shonubi: What is his rank now?Kazini: I don’t know now. I would need to go into the records to check.Shonubi: Was he punished?Kazini: No because of lack of evidence. The Law says if in doubt...The court found it okay to release him because there was no evidence.Porter: You said you would give us the court proceedings?Kazini: I contacted the court (martial) and they told me that I did not have legal powers to withdraw files from them. May be there is a legal way to do it... Those proceedings can be got by yourself your honour.Porter: You should have informed us. (Kazini hands over some documents which he said were messages, some of them to the Commander in Chief since 1998. The judges study them after which Porter says they will return to the messages and asks Shonubi to continue.)Shonubi: You recall in the interim report of the UN Panel paragraph 98. A plane belonging to Saleh was confiscated by you. You also said you were in the second UN Panel...what transpired?Kazini: They asked about Saleh and how he participated and sent an aircraft to Congo.... We told them that the first time, the plane came, it wasn’t him directly but other businessmen, we sent it (plane) back here and it never returned to DRC.Porter: What did you say to them (Panel) that made them say “you described your role in facilitating transportation of Ugandan merchandise in the DRC.Kazini: When we went there there was a total vacuum of supplies. The Congolese asked us to allow them to hitch hikes on the planes to take their merchandise, a few kilogrames...we would sometimes allow them. Then when they made some money they started hiring their own planes to take their merchandise.Porter: When you say a few kilogrammes what do you mean? Ten, 30, 100kgs?Kazini: About half a tonne, 300kgs.Porter: But over a year, there were about 4,000 passengers...Kazini: That is not correct...it must be investigated further because some Congolese came on foot others used their bicycles.Porter: No those who came through the airport.Kazini: Not to my knowledge.Porter: We have proof at least on 30 occasions. And when we talked to the President that Congolese businessmen were facilitated, he was upset. He said his intention was to facilitate Ugandan businessmen not Congolese?Kazini: That was an oversight on my side and a mistake therefore. His orders were clear and we had no right to alter anything, but with the situation there... some times Ugandan businessmen came with their Congolese friends and we could not turn them down.Porter: So the decision to help the Congolese was yours?Kazini: Yes.Porter: Contrary to what the Commander-in-Chief directed?Kazini: There should be flexibility. I was being flexible...Kanyogonya: The intention of the president was....He wanted to alleviate the suffering of the Congolese. I see no contradiction here.Porter: May be you don’t, but we do. (To Kazini) So the Panel was right, you described your role in facilitating transporting of Ugandan merchandise?Kazini: Yes. That is right.Shonubi: You know someone called Khalil.Kazini: Yes. He was a licenced trader then. He had some kind of permit.Berko: What was he dealing in then?Kazini: General business...coffee at the time, according to the statement he showed to me. Timber, coffee. Gold, diamonds, something like that. I don’t remember the details, but he had the permit.Porter: Under what name was he trading?Kazini: VictoriaPorter: So did you assist him with the business at all?Kazini: Not at all?Shonubi: You provided security?Kazini: No. Security was provided by RCD Police not the UPDF.Shonubi: Was Victoria paying taxes?Kazini: No. How could I know. I wasn’t part of the administrative structure. It was under RCD Goma.Porter: Who was the administrative authority for the area under you in July 1999?Kazini: In 1998, the administrative authority there was RCD Goma.Porter: Isiro, Bunya. Beni, Buta...that area?Kazini: From Buta westwards MLC under Bemba was in charge. From Isiro to Uganda border RCD...Porter: Who were you dealing with?Kazini: None.Porter: So the UPDF was doing the administration there?Kazini: No. RCD-Goma.Porter: That is a long way away.Kazini: That place was in dispute...?Porter: So at no time did you deal with Kisangani?Kazini: No.Shonubi: You knew the relationship between Bemba and Victoria?Kazini: No. It (Victoria) would fly from Kisangani to Gbadolite. Sometimes they would give me a lift, but I did not know their discussions.Shonubi: Did you receive any instruction or correspondence from Bemba about Victoria?Kazini: No.Berko: Have you written any letter on Victoria?Kazini: I can’t remember.Porter: I want to show you a document which came into our possession. I am not very good at French, but (gets the document) now that purports to be a receipt. I have done a rough translation (reads) “I the undersigned (name) acknowledge I have received US$1000 for exportation.....on behalf of Victoria, diamonds....,” have you seen it before?Kazini: This is my first time to see it.Porter: There is also a note on this document in your handwriting signed by you.Kazini: (looks at it) This isn’t me.Porter: (reads) addressed OSH Tac Headquarters (Operation Safe Haven Tactical headquarters), to the UPDF Commanders in Isiro, Bunya, Beni, Mpondwe and Buta. This is to inform you that Ms Victoria has been given permission to do business... That Victoria is cleared to pay taxes to MLC...Kazini: That was not me.Porter: Who signed it?Kazini: May be it was an impostor.Porter: We will check that later...That note is actually endorsed on the letter of Bemba, now look at the letter. This is a letter on the UPDF headed paper to the governor of Kisangani dated July 1999 from Operation Safe Haven tactical headquarters in Kisangani. There is a reference; communication from MLC Commander attached...Victoria cleared taxes with MLC and MLC officially recognised it...it is signed by James Kazini.Kazini: This one I am aware of it.Porter: Does if refer to the same one that you read earlier?Kazini: No. I doubt this one.Porter: Perhaps you can tell us about this one. How can that one not be your document?...If you insist it is not yours, we shall put it to the handwriting expert....You said it is not yours?Kazini: Okay, I accept everything here belongs to me.Porter: Okay then. Let us look at the documents bit by bit.... That receipt in French, it talks of Ali Jawal with the company Siporia....Your first sentence (reads) “This is to inform you that...” Why did you just deal with Victoria Diamonds and not the other one?Kazini: Because they were dealing with MLC. This was the rebel group inclined to us.Porter: You dealt with Congolese rebels not businessmen?Kazini: We were in charge of security...If they had security, why did we go there in the first place?Porter: Why deal with Victoria and not the other?Kazini: They did not consult me.Porter: Uninterrupted by anybody....why protect Victoria?Kazini: I had to tell the Commanders not to tax him.Porter: Explain to us very carefully...Kazini: Yes this was...Porter: You said your Commanders were taxing people especially Victoria?Kazini: Where there is total breakdown in governance, soldiers or people maintaining security take on the role of managers ... so I had to take precautions.Porter: Why? You appointed Adelle...Kazini: I was taking precautions...Porter: Okay. What if they got the money, What would they do with it?Kazini: Misuse it.Porter: You talk of security funding. The original report said the UPDF was actually charging people for security...Kazini: I meant intelligence.Porter: (refers to the letter) Anything, payment to you will be done to the OHS Tac...?Kazini: It never came.Porter: You were expecting it?Kazini: I never got involved and the situation wasn’t...it didn’t stabilise to allow it. I did not want soldiers to get involved because you never know what would happen.Porter: Why did you deny that document?Kazini: I did not recognise it. It is faded....Porter: Why did you want to interfere with Kisangani politics?Kazini: It is unfortunate we were there in the first place.Porter: Why did you have to interfere with the administrative authority of MLC?Kazini: That can be answered by Bemba, the person we were backing. He wrote to us as a president of that place.Porter: He wasn’t president of any organisation that was in charge of Kisangani.Kazini: The address is Lisala not Kisangani.Porter: (Reads) The last sentence. “Let me hope that I have been understood correctly” wasn’t that a threat?Kazini: I did not want to be misquoted or misrepresented.Porter: We read this as a threat.Kazini: I meant to interpret it (letter) correctly.Porter: We read this as a threat.Kazini: (Insists it was not meant to be)Porter: We have caught you out with at least 10 lies today...,” what was going on? Were you representing Victoria at the UN Panel?Kazini: No.Porter: There were allegations against Saleh, Jovial...and we are beginning to see that about you, they were right?Kazini: No I was doing my job. If there were mistakes, I don’t think I did what I was not supposed to do. Porter: (Adjourns hearing for briefly and resumes) We have read the documents. There are no more questions. Porter: Thank you Shonubi: This is the last witness my lord.Ends