This archive report was first published on 28 August 2021.
Published on August 28, 2021, a parliamentary committee in Kenya has been probing claims that Deputy President William Ruto helped an unnamed investor secure a Ksh15 billion ($10 million) loan from Equity Bank to set up a vaccine manufacturing plant in Uganda.
The committee's investigation has raised questions about the friendship between Ruto and Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni, particularly their association with Harun Aydin, a Turkish national who was deported by the Kenyan government on August 9 over money laundering allegations.
According to reports, Aydin was part of Ruto's delegation that was hosted by Museveni at State House, Entebbe, during Ruto's private visit to Uganda in July this year.
Equity Bank's executives denied any dealings with Aydin, stating that the lender had not issued the Ksh15 billion loan.
The Ugandan vaccine manufacturing plant is being built by Dei Group, a Ugandan company associated with Ugandan tycoon Matthias Magoola.
Dr. Ruto's claims on a radio show on August 3, amid the Aydin saga, that he had called Equity Bank and requested it fund the vaccine plant, fueled speculation in Kenya that Aydin was the unnamed investor.
Dr. Ruto has defended his business association with Aydin, maintaining that the decision to link the Turkish national to money laundering was part of a scheme to smear and block him from ascending to the presidency.
