The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) has revealed how it caught Cord leader Moses Wetangula in a bribery scandal involving the British American Tobacco (BAT) firm.
According to court filings by BBC investigative journalist Richard Cookson, the BBC used forensic experts and computer software to verify information and determine the involvement of Mr. Wetangula.
The BBC investigative journalist noted that he personally used software provided by electronics giant Apple to verify the authenticity of emails exchanged between BAT officials and beneficiaries of the bribes.
Mr Cookson adds that he used a forensic expert in the United Kingdom to confirm that the audio clips provided by whistleblower Paul Hopkins were authentic.
The BBC adds that it held a 20-minute interview with Mr Wetangula in which the senator denied receiving bribes from BAT and that the clip was included in the episode that aired on November 29, 2015.
“I took various steps to verify the integrity and authenticity of the paper and electronic documents…these steps included checking the metadata of emails using the “get info” function on an Apple laptop to check that it matched the sender, receiver and date of creation data that appeared in the bodies of the emails themselves.
“Arranging for an independent forensic scientist with expertise in audio analysis and who is regularly used as an expert witness in criminal cases in the United Kingdom to examine clips from recorded conversations that Mr Hopkins provided for evidence of tampering,” Mr Cookson says.
The BBC story by Cookson claimed that former East African Breweries Limited corporate affairs executive Julie Adell-Owino while working for BAT organised payment of bribes to senior Kenyan officials—including Mr Wetangula.
The leaked documents shows that senior BAT and EABL official Ms. Adell-Owino in a July 2012 email requested the purchase of a business class plane ticket to London for Mr Wetang’ula who was then the Minister of Trade.
“Mr Wetang’ula will be “hosted at Globe House, BAT’s London headquarters,” the email says, adding that the transaction should be “paperless” and there should be “no receipts if any in his name”.
