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Alert

Publisher has fled to London

(NDIMA/IFEX) - Tony Gachoka, the editor and publisher of the "Sunday
Post" who fled the country on Monday 15 February 1999, is in London.





** Updates IFEX alerts of 17 February and 16 February 1999. For
background on cases involving Gachoka see IFEX alerts of 23 July, 15
July, 10 July and 3 July 1998**

Gachoka said he fled, not only because of the court case against him,
but because of an alleged elaborate plot to eliminate him because of
evidence he holds about the Goldenberg scandal. He said he had received
threats from an unidentified caller before he left. "Who do you think
you are. I'm calling to tell you that you will be killed" the caller had
said. Gachoka said that he was ready to argue out the contempt case
against him but he could not take the threats lightly, considering the
immense influence of those behind the Goldenberg scandal.

He said he would immediately apply for political asylum in view of the
situation. However, he vowed to continue publishing through the
Internet. On Monday 15 February, the Attorney-General through the deputy
chief litigation counsel, Valerie Onyango, went to court seeking leave
to institute criminal contempt proceedings against the editor. The leave
was granted by the Court of Appeal.

The contempt involves articles published in the 31 January and 7
February issues of the "Sunday Post" which allege that Chief Justice
Zaccheaus Chesoni was implicated in judicial anarchy and a Sh30 million
(approx. US$464,000) bribe.

Background Information

The Goldenberg company was set up by Kamlesh Pattni and dealt in the
business of exporting non-existent gemstones. It is accused of having
swindled the Kenyan government of a lot of money. Gachoka claimed (after
his flight from Kenya) that he had evidence that some top government
officials were involved in the Goldenberg scandal.