Paul Kamlesh Pattni (also known as Brother Paul) was (born 1965). He was implicated in the 1990s

Goldenberg scandal The Goldenberg scandal was a political scandal where the Kenyan government was found to have subsidised exports of gold far beyond standard arrangements during the 1990s, by paying the company Goldenberg International 35% more (in Kenyan shilling ...

but was acquitted in 2013. In March 2023, Mr Pattni has been uncovered by

Al Jazeera Al Jazeera ( ar, الجزيرة, translit-std=DIN, translit=al-jazīrah, , "The Island") is a state-owned Arabic-language international radio and TV broadcaster of Qatar. It is based in Doha and operated by the media conglomerate Al Jazeera ...

Investigative Unit as dirty Gold money launder in Zimbabwe.

Background

Kamlesh Pattni was born and raised in

Mombasa Mombasa ( ; ) is a coastal city in southeastern Kenya along the Indian Ocean. It was the first capital of the British East Africa, before Nairobi was elevated to capital city status. It now serves as the capital of Mombasa County. The town is ...

, Kenya. He later moved to practice business in

Nairobi Nairobi ( ) is the capital and largest city of Kenya. The name is derived from the Maasai phrase ''Enkare Nairobi'', which translates to "place of cool waters", a reference to the Nairobi River which flows through the city. The city proper ha ...

, where he allegedly used his company to acquire billions of

shillings The shilling is a historical coin, and the name of a unit of modern currencies formerly used in the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, other British Commonwealth countries and Ireland, where they were generally equivalent to 12 pence or ...

, in league with prominent politicians and government officials in the

. The

Daily Nation The ''Daily Nation'' is the highest circulation Kenyan independent newspaper with 170,000 copies. History The ''Daily Nation'' was started in the year 1958 as a Swahili language, Swahili weekly called ''Taifa'' by the Englishman Charles Hay ...

reports that Kamlesh Pattni is now a baptised Christian taking the name of

Paul Paul may refer to: *Paul (given name), a given name (includes a list of people with that name) *Paul (surname), a list of people People Christianity *Paul the Apostle (AD c.5–c.64/65), also known as Saul of Tarsus or Saint Paul, early Chris ...

, and runs his own church. In April 2013, the High Court

acquitted In common law jurisdictions, an acquittal certifies that the accused is free from the charge of an offense, as far as criminal law is concerned. The finality of an acquittal is dependent on the jurisdiction. In some countries, such as the ...

him over the Goldenberg scandal.

Political career

Pattni is the chairman of the

Kenya National Democratic Alliance The Kenya National Democratic Alliance (KENDA) is a political party in Kenya. History KENDA was established by David Mukaru-Ng'ang'a in 1992.Robert M. Maxon, Thomas P. Ofcansky (2014) ''Historical Dictionary of Kenya'', Rowman & Littlefield, p16 ...

(KENDA), a political party in Kenya. He was a parliamentary candidate at the 2007 elections. He unsuccessfully contested the

Westlands Constituency Westlands Constituency is an electoral constituency in Kenya. It is one of the seventeen constituencies in Nairobi County. The constituency is situated within Westlands Sub-county, formerly Westlands District. The entire constituency is locate ...

in the 2013 election and received 10,083 votes.

Personal life

He was born into a Hindu family and later converted to Christianity and took the name Paul on his baptism. In 2012, he was awarded the Lifetime Africa Achievement Prize for Humanitarianism and Equity by the

Ghanaian Ghana (; tw, Gaana, ee, Gana), officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country in West Africa. It abuts the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean to the south, sharing borders with Ivory Coast in Ghana–Ivory Coast border, the west, Burkina ...

Excellence Awards Foundation.

References

External links

*
Probe into Kenya hotel sell-off
''BBC'' 1965 births Living people Kenyan businesspeople {{Kenya-bio-stub