There is tension because Juliet committee members do not know what has happened to money that was raised by Kenyans and friends to transport the body of the late Juliet Kavinga to Kenya. Both the Treasurer Mr. Silas Njuguna and the Chairperson Mr. Daniel Mwaura failed to turn up at a crisis meeting that was called today by the Committee at Kulturhuset in Stockholm. The meeting was supposed to evaluate Committee work, inspect accounts and set a date for the dissolution of the Committee.
Both the Chairman and the Treasurer skipped the meeting without sending apologies. At the meeting, the Treasurer failed to answer several phone calls from different Committee members who wanted a report on the status of accounts and to establish whether cash had been sent to Juliet’s mother in Kenya.
The situation was aggravated by the fact that both the Treasurer, the Chairman and a Committee member are known to have joined hands last week with members of a dubious Foundation that the Committee believes, is trying to profiteer from Juliet’s name. Heidi, the contact person of the Foundation, has failed on several occasions to produce bank statements showing the amount in the Foundation while some Committee members now believe that Committee members working with the Foundation might have been compromised. Heidi jumped out of the Committee a week after it was formed after she was put under pressure by Committee members who wanted her to stop seeking publicity for the Foundation using Juliet’s name because nobody knew what she was doing.
At a Committee meeting held on Monday September 11th, it was agreed that cash would be sent to Juliet’s mother in Kenya through Western Union. An agenda in today’s meeting was a review of a decision that Ksh 210.000 that remained after expenses of transport of Juliet’s body were sorted out be deposited in an account held by Juliet’s mother in Kenya instead of being sent by Western Union. The view of certain Committee members was that the amount was too huge and that sending it by Western Union carried security problems especially in Kenya where crime is rife.
Another issue is that at today’s meeting, Committee members who were opposed to cash being sent in total for security reasons were supposed to wash their hands of responsibility in case the money precipitated a crisis or a tragedy in Juliet’s family. The camp that wanted all the amount sent said that they “did not care” about whatever happened.
A Committee member reported that both the Chairman and the Treasurer had been contemplating depositing the money with the Kenyan Embassy in Stockholm for Juliet’s mother to collect it through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, a move that had not been sanctioned by the Committee.
At today’s meeting that was attended by seven Committee members, the Committee was also supposed to present a bill of 180.000 kr to the Treasurer who was supposed to sort out the bill with the company that transported Juliet’s body to Kenya. This has not been done. A Kenyan lady who helped bankroll a party to raise funds for Juliet has also not been paid her cash. The Committee resolved that they will continue searching for the Treasurer and if he is not traced by Friday morning, it will be assumed that he has gone underground and police will be alerted.
A crisis meeting has once again been called on Friday Sept 15th at 17.00 hrs where the Treasurer is expected to explain the whereabouts of cash, produce all receipts and account for all cash collected. The Committee resolved that if the Treasurer failed to do so, he would be sued by the Committee while the Kenyan community and friends would be updated about the situation by the Committee.
Members present resolved that the Committee would not be dissolved until all issues are sorted out and a comprehensive report made to the Kenyan community and friends who donated generously for Juliet’s body to be transported to Kenya. It was also resolved that the Committee would close down the dubious Foundation that was collecting money in the name of Juliet because the Foundation was unaccountable.
Those who attended the meeting were: Pastor Beatrice Kamau, Serah Nielsen, Margaret Njemia, Claes Danielson, Gerry Changa Midenyo, Karim Abdul (Sandy), Monica Bryant, Celestine Gichana Davidsson, and Nils Lindbeth Bryant.
Okoth Osewe
makosewe@gmail.com
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