Busia Senator Okiya Omtatah, during a discussion on X Spaces, claimed that the late businessman Jacob Juma used his notes to enter the mining industry.
Juma gained notoriety when his newly established mining company staked a claim in Ksh300 billion worth of niobium deposits in the Coast region.
A Government of Kenya investigation revealed that a Canadian company fraudulently acquired a license to mine niobium valued at Ksh6.2 trillion, with Juma’s local company receiving Ksh300 billion of the share.
Juma claimed part of the stake, asserting that his company drilled 7,897 meters in Mrima Hills in 2008, discovering the mineral and other rare earth deposits.
Okiya Omtatah now suggests that the late businessman, assassinated in 2016, may not have been entirely truthful.
“We are talking about Jacob Juma and the mining at the coast. What I want to tell you is that Jacob Juma found the information about it when he came into my office,” Omtatah stated during the X Space.
“He used to come and do some work in my office. So when he came into my office one time and got a small write-up on those minerals.”
Using the notes taken from Omtatah’s office, the businessman quickly registered a prospecting company.
He then collaborated with the Canadian firm and initiated the niobium mining project at Mrima Hills in Kwale County.
The Busia Senator did not clarify why he did not pursue legal action against the late businessman for this breach of privacy.
In 2021, Kenya won the Ksh300 billion case against Juma’s company for revoking the niobium and rare earth minerals mining license.
Niobium is a component in high-strength steel and is used in the manufacture of electronics and magnets for electric vehicle motors.
According to the Busia Senator, Kenya has significant mineral deposits that are being exploited by foreigners in collusion with a few senior government officials.
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