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{
"id": 35234,
"url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/35234/?format=api",
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"type": "speech",
"speaker_name": "Ms. A. Abdalla",
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"speaker": {
"id": 382,
"legal_name": "Amina Ali Abdalla",
"slug": "amina-abdalla"
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"content": "that were organized by this mosque were never able to raise even ten per cent of the reconstruction budget. Out of this frustration, I decided to make a significant contribution, to give a boost to this construction. It, therefore, came as a surprise to me when a Nigerian individual, claiming that he was an investigator for the UN, came to see me on 11th May, 2011, at my Continental House office and claimed that he was investigating an extremely large donation that I had made to the mosque. I explained to him that the size of the contribution was as a result of my strong historical ties to the mosque, and that I found it difficult for the mosque committee to be able to afford to fund terrorism, considering the low response that their fundraising efforts had been able to get. Mr. Speaker, Sir, thirdly, I challenged him that if he had evidence that the accounts were used for terrorism he could ask the authorities to arrest the culprits, as the actions of the culprits would be an offence under the Organized Crimes Act. I further told him that the mosque was a registered legal entity whose accounts could be frozen if they were found not to be following procedure. I asked him whether it was my business to follow what the organizers of the harambee did with my contribution. Mr. Speaker, Sir, my interactions with this investigator left me with the view that either the UN recruited an extremely shoddy investigator or the fellow was a con artist who wanted to extort money from me through his wild claims. In fact, I subscribed to the latter and dismissed him, especially when he told me that Mohamed Iman, the said terrorist, used my contribution for his passage to Somalia, yet it is a known fact that he left for Somalia one-and-a-half years before my contribution in February, 2011. Mr. Speaker, Sir, secondly, I found it funny that he had mentioned that the said Iman had told his followers to support me in the 2007 elections. I never ran in the 2007 elections, either at the nomination level or at the general election. It was even funnier when he told me that Iman had supported me considering that the said Mr. Iman subscribes to an Islamic school of thought that does not support women in leadership, let alone political leadership. Mr. Speaker, Sir, terrorism is a real challenge to the Muslim community and it is only recently that we, as leaders, have appreciated the level of recruitment that is taking place on our soil. The main reason for this delay in appreciation of the problem is the sensationalization of this subject by the international community. The Somalia and Eritrea Monitoring Group are the biggest culprits in this sensationalization and disinformation of the subject, being led by the lead consultant in this programme. They have made many wild allegations against many Muslim religious, political and business leaders mainly from Somalia. The innocent have had to suffer the stigma of being linked to terrorism in silence, as the authors hide behind diplomatic immunity enjoyed by the UN. Mr. Speaker, Sir, it is my view that unless the consultant can substantiate allegations linking the Pumwani Riyadha Mosque to financing Al Shabaab, then action needs to be taken against him, individually, to prevent his shoddy work from destroying other people’s careers and reputation. Mr. Speaker, Sir, several public leaders and ordinary citizens, including our former Vice President, hon. Moody Awori, have contributed to the Pumwani Muslim Reconstruction Project. The question I asked is: Why has the report focused on hon. Balala and myself? The answer lies in the consultants getting the best justification for the extension of the Somali Monitoring Group (SMG) mandate, which was granted by a UN Resolution on the same date of the Report. Their mandate has been extended for 12 months. Nairobi is a preferred duty station for UN international staff because they have the comfort of enjoying payslips that are 26 per cent higher than the highest paid American civil servant. They receive additional allowances for purported security risks that they incur. Thirdly, they travel in leisure because the fuel they use is bought duty free and tax free, facilities that they would not enjoy anywhere else in the world. Mr. Speaker, Sir, many Muslims in the past have ignored the SMG Report. However, the consequences of their latest report are far-reaching for Muslim charities in Kenya and, especially, for construction of mosques. Since September 11th, 2001, Muslim charities fully rely on the generosity of local donors such as hon. Balala and myself. This Report would scare Muslims and other donors from contributing for fear of being linked to terrorism. Secondly, this Report would additionally encourage religious intolerance. As you are aware, last month, I was able to raise from my colleagues a total of Kshs1.3 million for a mosque in Lagdera. About 60 per cent of the contributors were non-Muslim colleagues, whom I now fear will not be able to willingly contribute, if there is a perception that the monies they give are given to terrorist groups that kill and maim the innocent. Mr. Speaker, Sir, I contribute to harambees in aid of churches and other religions. This Report would discourage that mutual co-operation between the faiths. I, personally, intend to continue to fund Muslim charities and I am committed to ensuring that the Pumwani Mosque is completed. The UN Report seems to criminalize donations to mosques and the Government will have to come out clearly on this matter. The allegations made by the Somalia Monitoring Group Report are serious as they link a Member of the Cabinet and a Legislator to funding terrorism, indirectly implying the presence of terrorism sympathizers at the highest level of Government. The question I ask is: Did the SMG share that information with the Government security agencies before presenting it to the UN? If they did, what did the Ministry of State for Provincial Administration and Internal Security do to verify that information? Did the Government of Kenya ignore the SMG as they did to a previous report by the same group that accused the Government of Kenya of breaking a UN embargo by training Somali soldiers, despite the fact that the resolution clearly stipulated that supporters of the Transitional National Government were not covered by the embargo?"
}