Sakaja Blames Powerful Individuals in State House For Scheming To Take Over City Hall Roles Even As His Leadership Comes Under Scrutiny Over Underperformance
Nairobi Governor Johnson Sakaja has sensationally claimed that powerful individuals within the national government are scheming to wrest control of key City Hall functions, even as his administration faces mounting criticism over poor service delivery and financial mismanagement.
Speaking in a wide-ranging interview over the weekend, the embattled governor said unnamed officials eyeing the lucrative Nairobi governorship in 2027 are pushing a sinister agenda to take over county functions through the backdoor, despite his categorical refusal to cede any responsibilities to the national government.
“There are speculations, and some people are pushing that agenda. Think about the political stakes in Nairobi after the Presidency; there is no bigger position to contest than the governorship of Nairobi,” Sakaja said, his voice thick with frustration.
The governor insisted that unlike the defunct Nairobi Metropolitan Services arrangement that left City Hall with a crippling Sh16 billion debt, the current framework with President William Ruto’s administration is merely a support mechanism and not a transfer of functions.
“We have not ceded any functions. A transfer of functions is not what we are discussing and it is not something we will do. If there were a transfer of functions, there would be a formal document as provided for in Article 187 of the Constitution. Have you seen any such document? There is none,” Sakaja declared defiantly.
But even as the governor attempts to fend off what he terms as a hostile takeover, his administration is drowning in a sea of failures that have left Nairobians questioning his competence and mandate to lead the capital city.
City Hall is bleeding money like a wounded animal. Official records show that unpaid revenues ballooned by a staggering Sh2 billion between July and September last year, with land rates defaulters alone accounting for Sh1.29 billion of the unpaid dues. Only 50,000 out of 250,000 registered land parcels currently pay rates, exposing a catastrophic failure in revenue collection.
The garbage crisis continues to choke the city, with mountains of refuse piling up in estates and the Central Business District despite Sakaja’s repeated promises to clean up Nairobi. Residents have watched helplessly as their once-beautiful city degenerates into a filthy mess, with the governor blaming everyone from the defunct NMS to rogue garbage collectors for the mess.
Roads across the capital remain in shambles, pockmarked with potholes that swallow vehicles whole during the rainy season. Water scarcity has become the norm rather than the exception, with many estates going for days without supply. Street lighting is virtually non-existent in vast swathes of the city, turning them into crime hotspots where muggers and thugs reign supreme.
The situation has become so dire that even members of the County Assembly, supposedly Sakaja’s allies, have turned against him with brutal honesty. Baba Dogo MCA Geoffrey Majiwa did not mince his words when he declared that the governor has failed residents for the past three years.
“It is true that the governor has failed the residents for the past three years. He has done nothing. He talks about collaboration, but what is the nature of this collaboration? There must be papers showing a transfer of functions, yet we are seeing none. It is a sad tragedy for Nairobi,” Majiwa said, calling for Sakaja’s resignation or impeachment.
Deputy Majority Whip Waithera Chege was equally scathing, openly welcoming greater national government involvement and faulting Sakaja for his spectacular failures.
“For a long time, we have been crying to the President about the governor’s performance. We support this fully. It is clear that the governor has failed in delivering his mandate. What we want now is the implementation of all the projects through the national government. Residents want better services, nothing else,” Chege said without holding back.
The political intrigue intensified after it emerged that Sakaja, accompanied by his entire cabinet, held a secret meeting with President Ruto at State House last week. No official communique was issued after the marathon session, fueling speculation that a deal to hand over key functions was sealed behind closed doors.
Reports indicate that the arrangement covers garbage collection and disposal, public works including road construction and maintenance, water supply and affordable housing, with the national government committing an estimated Sh2.1 billion to accelerate service delivery through agencies like the Kenya Urban Roads Authority and Athi Water Works Development Agency.
President Ruto himself has made several public pronouncements about taking charge of Nairobi’s transformation. In a church service at AIC Pipeline, he declared that his administration would handle waste management, roads and street lighting, signaling an increasingly central role for the national government in running the capital.
“We must make Nairobi more accessible, and we have agreed with the governor on how we are going to do it. On water, we have completed the Northern Collector Tunnel and we now have an extra 140 million litres. We will deal with the garbage menace,” Ruto announced, leaving little doubt about the shift in power dynamics.
Sakaja’s predicament mirrors that of his predecessor Mike Sonko, who was similarly pressured by President Uhuru Kenyatta into signing off key responsibilities to the NMS in 2020 after City Hall descended into chaos marked by leadership wrangles, corruption allegations and deteriorating service delivery.
The governor has tried to defend his position by arguing that Nairobi’s unique status as the capital demands special financing and collaboration with the national government, citing examples of Paris and New York which receive substantial national support.
“Paris, with a population of 2 million, has a budget of Sh13 trillion yet Nairobi, with over 6 million people, has a budget of about Sh38 billion. If we want to compete with international cities, we must embrace special financing and strategic partnerships,” Sakaja said, attempting to justify the controversial arrangement.
He pointed to Section 6 of the Urban Areas and Cities Act, 2019, which recognises Nairobi as Kenya’s capital and calls for formal cooperation between county and national governments on funding and service delivery.
However, constitutional lawyers and opposition politicians have raised serious questions about the legality of the arrangement. Nairobi Senator Edwin Sifuna has been particularly vocal, pointing out that no formal deed of transfer has been tabled before the County Assembly as required by Article 187 of the Constitution.
“Constitutionally there has to be a deed of transfer of functions. It has to be approved by the county assembly. I have seen neither,” Sifuna posted on social media, throwing cold water on Sakaja’s claims that no transfer has occurred.
The drama has exposed the precarious position that Nairobi governors find themselves in, caught between the demands of running a complex metropolis and the political machinations of powerful interests at the national level who see control of the capital as a stepping stone to higher office.
With AFCON 2027 on the horizon and mounting pressure to transform Nairobi into a world-class city, the stakes have never been higher. But as garbage piles up, roads crumble and residents suffer, the question on everyone’s lips is whether Sakaja has what it takes to turn things around, or whether the vultures circling State House will eventually swoop in to pick at the carcass of his failed administration.
For now, the governor remains defiant, insisting that he will protect devolution and resist any attempts to undermine the county government. But with his performance record speaking louder than his words, time may be running out for Johnson Sakaja’s City Hall dream.
A comprehensive audit has uncovered what appears to be one of the largest financial discrepancies in Nairobi County’s history, with Sh39.8 billion mysteriously removed from the county’s pending bills register, raising serious questions about the authenticity of supplier claims under Governor Johnson Sakaja’s administration.
The Controller of Budget, Dr. Margaret Nyakang’o, has revealed an unexplained 32.7 percent reduction in Nairobi’s supplier arrears, which dropped from Sh121.8 billion to Sh86.8 billion over the year ending June 2025.
This dramatic decrease has triggered demands for a detailed explanation from the Auditor-General’s office about how such a massive amount could simply vanish from official records.
The timing of this discovery is particularly concerning as it comes amid widespread complaints from legitimate contractors who continue to wait months or even years for payments from both county and national governments.
Many small and medium-sized businesses that depend on government contracts have found themselves blacklisted by credit reference bureaus after defaulting on loans while waiting for delayed payments.
Charles Kerich, Nairobi’s County Executive Committee Member for Finance and Economic Affairs, has attempted to provide explanations for the reduction, citing the elimination of “unjustifiably high” legal fees and the removal of a disputed Sh300 million bank loan from the pending bills register.
He also mentioned that the county paid Sh1 billion in outstanding pensions and realigned contingent liabilities related to loans borrowed in the 1980s.
However, these explanations account for only Sh4 billion of the total Sh39.8 billion reduction, leaving a substantial gap that remains unexplained.
The Controller of Budget has made it clear that Nairobi County must provide a comprehensive breakdown to the Auditor-General of how this reconciliation was conducted.
This latest scandal adds to a troubling pattern of financial irregularities at City Hall. In April, the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission revealed court filings detailing how rogue county officials had paid Sh407 million to shadowy businesses through fraudulent transactions between 2016 and 2022.
The investigation found that senior officials approved irregular payments to 14 unprequalified business entities for supplies that were never delivered.
The broader implications of this audit extend beyond Nairobi County.
The Controller of Budget noted that the reduction in Nairobi’s pending bills caused the overall debt owed by all 47 counties to suppliers to decrease from Sh181.9 billion to Sh176.8 billion.
Despite this reduction, Nairobi still holds the dubious distinction of having the largest unpaid debts among all counties at Sh86.77 billion.
The aging analysis of Nairobi’s remaining pending bills reveals another disturbing trend.
Over 71 percent of the outstanding debts, amounting to Sh62.38 billion, have been pending for more than three years. This prolonged delay in payments has created a ripple effect throughout the business community, with many suppliers facing financial ruin while waiting for their money.
The situation has become so dire that asset seizures among government suppliers have increased significantly.
Hundreds of business owners who once eagerly sought government contracts now describe the financial pain of years-long payment delays as unbearable.
The irony is stark: while the government remains the biggest spender in the country, its payment practices are driving legitimate businesses into bankruptcy.
Dr. Nyakang’o expressed particular concern about the continued accumulation of new pending bills, noting that counties added Sh48.9 billion to their unpaid obligations between July 2024 and June 2025, despite receiving full disbursements from the Treasury.
This trend suggests systemic issues in financial management across the devolved units.
The Controller of Budget also highlighted discrepancies between the pending bills that many counties report to her office and the figures contained in their official financial statements, pointing to potential widespread irregularities in financial reporting across the country.
For Governor Sakaja’s administration, this audit represents a significant credibility challenge.
Having come into office promising transparency and fiscal responsibility, the unexplained removal of nearly Sh40 billion from the county’s books without proper documentation raises serious questions about financial governance under his leadership.
The demand for accountability is growing louder, with the Controller of Budget insisting that Nairobi County must provide a detailed analysis of its reconciliation process to the Auditor-General.
Until such explanations are forthcoming, the specter of fake supplier bills and fraudulent transactions will continue to hang over City Hall, undermining public trust in the county’s financial management.
As investigations continue, the people of Nairobi are left wondering how many more financial irregularities remain hidden in the county’s books, and whether the current administration has the political will to root out the systemic corruption that has plagued City Hall for years.
Nairobi County Assembly launches comprehensive probe into questionable legal payments amid allegations of manufactured cases and inflated bills
Nairobi Members of County Assembly have launched a damning investigation into what they describe as a systematic “money heist” involving fraudulent legal claims worth Sh10.7 billion paid to law firms under highly questionable circumstances.
The explosive probe, spearheaded by the County Assembly’s Public Accounts Committee, has uncovered a web of financial impropriety involving manufactured court cases, inflated legal bills, and suspicious payments made without proper documentation or oversight.
The Yellow Horse Inn Scandal
At the heart of the investigation lies a bizarre 2014 case that epitomizes the alleged fraud. Nairobi County initially issued a demand notice to Yellow Horse Inn Limited for Sh5.3 million in land rates, treating the property as privately owned according to the county’s own records.
However, in a shocking twist during court proceedings, City Hall completely changed its position, suddenly claiming ownership of the same land it had been demanding rates from.
This dramatic reversal, MCAs argue, signals a deliberately manufactured dispute designed to benefit both county officials and private law firms.
To defend this new stance, the county retained Momanyi and Associates Advocates, which promptly issued a staggering fee note of Sh80 million, later “reduced” to Sh34 million.
Crucially, no contract, itemized invoice, internal legal memo, or formal correspondence has been provided to justify this enormous cost.
“If the county can issue a demand for land rates to an individual only to later claim ownership of the same land, does that not signal a failure of due diligence?” questioned Ngara MCA Mwaura Chege, who chairs the Public Accounts Committee.
Pattern of Suspicious Payments
The investigation has revealed a disturbing pattern of questionable legal payments across multiple cases:
Traffic Marshal Recruitment Case: When Nairobi County was sued over alleged corruption in recruiting traffic marshals, it engaged Gikunda Miriti and Company Advocates. The firm issued a bill of Sh100 million, later revised to Sh67 million, which was paid in June 2023 without adequate justification.
Undocumented Sh30 Million Payment: Perhaps most alarmingly, the county made a Sh30 million payment to another law firm despite the complete absence of supporting documents, including no case file, legal opinion from the county’s legal department, or contract.
The Ruaraka Fire Station Fiasco: Baba Dogo MCA Geoffrey Majiwa highlighted another troubling case where a parcel in Ruaraka earmarked for a fire station became embroiled in manufactured litigation. “A demand was issued, rates were paid, and the land was eventually sold. There’s now a private fire station on public land, and the county is in court trying to reclaim it,” he revealed.
Scale of the Crisis
The investigation has uncovered that 44 law firms pocketed Sh1.3 billion in legal fees from Nairobi City County in just one year between October 2022 and January 2024. The most recent requisitions in January 2024 alone totaled Sh136 million to 11 different law firms.
Some of the major payments include:
Kwanga Mboya and Company Advocates: Sh125 million
Swanya and Company Advocates: Sh85 million
Makallah Theuri: Sh73 million
Gikunda Miriti and Company: Sh67 million
MMA Advocates: Sh57 million
Currently, 11 law firms are demanding a total of Sh10.7 billion from the county government, prompting widespread public outcry and the current investigation.
Systemic Failures and Lack of Oversight
County Attorney Christine Ireri, who has been in office for less than a year, acknowledged the scale of the problem. “We found one advocate who had been promised Sh1 billion. That is not only shocking but unacceptable,” she revealed.
The crisis stems partly from the county’s limited legal capacity. With only 24 lawyers including the county attorney to handle hundreds of active cases, the county has been forced to rely heavily on external law firms—a situation that has allegedly been systematically exploited.
“Some of these payments were committed by a single individual without any oversight,” Ireri explained, highlighting the lack of proper checks and balances that allowed the fraud to flourish.
The Cleanup Operation
Governor Johnson Sakaja’s administration has established a taskforce to audit and review all pending legal bills. So far, the taskforce has reviewed 162 files totaling Sh7 billion in claims, with many expected to be significantly reduced or rejected entirely.
The county has implemented new measures requiring all legal fees to adhere to the Advocates Remuneration Order and undergo internal review before payment. “No advocate is currently being paid without internal review,” Ireri emphasized.
The administration also plans to hire an additional 20 lawyers to reduce reliance on external law firms and prevent future exploitation of the system.
Resistance and Tensions
The cleanup efforts have created tension between the county government and members of the legal fraternity. Some lawyers have reportedly expressed frustration over the new vetting process, arguing it undermines previous agreements.
“Many of them expected to be paid the full amounts they negotiated with individual county officials. But we must prioritize transparency and fiscal responsibility,” Ireri stated.
The Nairobi legal fees scandal reflects a broader crisis affecting county governments across Kenya. Auditor General Nancy Gathungu has previously raised concerns about the huge pending legal bills crisis, noting that in some cases, legal fees exceed counties’ own revenue collections.
The investigation has also raised serious questions about governance, accountability, and the vulnerability of public resources to systematic exploitation through manufactured legal disputes.
As the Public Accounts Committee continues its investigation, MCAs are calling for comprehensive reforms to prevent similar scandals in the future. The probe is expected to result in recommendations for stronger oversight mechanisms, clearer procurement procedures for legal services, and potential criminal referrals for those found to have defrauded the county.
“We need to build a system that protects public resources, holds people accountable, and ensures legal representation is based on merit and not personal deals,” Ireri concluded.
Broken online system forces developers into year-long waits while corrupt officials demand bribes to fast-track applications
Engineers practicing in Nairobi County have blown the whistle on a systematic corruption scheme within the county government’s building plans approval system, where rogue officials are exploiting technical glitches to extort bribes from desperate developers and investors.
In damning testimony before the Nairobi County Assembly’s planning committee, the Institution of Engineers of Kenya (IEK) revealed how the county’s supposedly efficient online planning management system has become a tool for corruption, leaving genuine applicants stranded for up to 12 months while enriching corrupt officials.
System designed to fail
According to IEK President Shammah Kiteme, the Nairobi Planning and Development Management System—designed to streamline construction approvals—routinely goes blank after applicants submit their credentials and pay required fees, leaving them with no feedback on whether applications have been approved or rejected.
“Despite making the submission online, the contact person will tell you that the submission that you made was never received but they can fast-track the process for you,” Kiteme told the assembly committee. “Is this how an online system works? There should be a digital footprint for each of the applications.”
This systematic failure forces engineers and their clients into a tedious cycle of physical visits to City Hall offices, where corrupt officials lie in wait with demands for illegal payments.
The corruption scheme exposed
The corruption scheme operates with brazen simplicity: Officials claim online submissions were never received, then offer to “fast-track” applications in exchange for bribes.
The physical contact becomes necessary, engineers say, specifically to “exchange money so that the approval is carried out.”
Engineer John Robert Ogallo described how the delays are “scaring away investors” and causing local engineers to lose confidence and opportunities. “Some of them are also giving up on the investment that they want to carry out,” he told the assembly.
The contrast with other counties is stark. While approvals in counties like Machakos and Kiambu take just a few days, Nairobi applicants endure waits of up to 12 months—a delay that appears deliberately engineered to create opportunities for corruption.
Economic impact
The corruption is having severe economic consequences beyond individual projects. Investors are losing confidence in Nairobi’s construction sector, with some abandoning projects entirely due to the uncertainty and illegal demands for payments.
Engineers report that clients are giving up on construction projects after months of waiting, while the county’s reputation as a business destination suffers. The system’s failures particularly affect new registrations, making it difficult for emerging engineers to upload documents and establish their practices.
Official response awaited
County Assembly Planning Committee Chairperson Alvin Palapala has summoned county executives to answer the allegations. “We believe that this is deliberately delaying the process of approvals,” Palapala said, announcing plans to meet with county officials to demand explanations.
IEK President Kiteme has promised to provide the assembly with a list of specific officials involved in soliciting bribes, escalating what was already a serious institutional crisis.
System built for transparency, used for corruption
The Nairobi Planning and Development Management System was originally designed to bring transparency and efficiency to construction approvals, handling everything from building permits to land amalgamation and outdoor advertisements entirely online.
The system was supposed to process applications within days, eliminating the need for physical visits and reducing opportunities for corruption. Instead, it has become a sophisticated tool for extortion, with officials using technical “glitches” as cover for their illegal activities.
Engineers demand action
The engineers’ frustration has reached a breaking point after nearly a year of raising concerns with county executives without resolution. They cite unclear workflows, delayed payment confirmations, and absent feedback channels as evidence of deliberate system sabotage.
“Engineers within the county are unable to work with their clients, some of them have lost opportunities and projects are delayed,” Kiteme emphasized, calling for immediate intervention to restore system functionality and eliminate corruption.
The revelations come at a time when Nairobi County is positioning itself as East Africa’s premier business hub, making the reputational damage from these corruption allegations particularly concerning for the county’s economic future.
Former Nairobi Governor Mike Mbuvi Sonko has revealed how much he was getting paid in bribes from county revenue collection office during his tenure.
In an interview on a local podcast, the former Governor said he could get up to Sh80 million depending on the day’s collection going to show how deeply corruption is entrenched in the city’s administration.
Sonko said the bribe took him by shock as it came from his financial officers and was meant to buy his silence as they embarked on wanton looting. He said the trend rose his curiosity and he made the mistake of reporting this to Statehouse not knowing it would mark the beginning of his troubles as the governor.
“I used to get around Sh50 million and this used to come daily, it could even go up to Sh80 million depending on the day’s collection. I realized that the county was making a lot of money but much was getting lost to corruption so I went to report it to former President Uhuru my boss and he even called President Ruto (his deputy then) to get my story,”
“I only didn’t know I was going to dig my own grave. I had given them the clearest hint that Nairobi had money, and later Statehouse could come after me,”
Sonko says the county could make up to Sh300 million daily collections but only about Sh50 million would end up in the accounts with the rest getting looted.
following his meeting with the president, they planned to lay a trap to arrest the people behind the looting and he got wired by an intelligence operative he mentions as Mr. Mburu to get the perpetrators in action.
“They put wires on me to record all the guys when they bring the money. I recorded them the next day when they brought the money and it went on, they could bring at a times Sh50M, Sh60M even up to Sh80m and all was in cash,” He said.
Sonko then took the evidence back to Statehouse and after ascertaining, a decision was then made to digitize the revenue collection.
A trap was then laid to arrest the city hall officers behind the scheme and eventually they were caught in action by EACC and DCI officers. Sonko says he still has the video clips of the entire operation while claiming his innocence.
“I was trying to help fight corruption, I reported everything to the boss, how things turned around and my reputation tainted as the most corrupt leading to my impeachment I still don’t understand.” He said.
“But I was fixed with corruption cases and in which I’ve been vindicated and very soon Kenyans will know the truth as to how all this happened.” He added.
Sonko’s impeachment
Mr Sonko was elected as Governor of the Nairobi City County during the 2017 general elections for a term of five years.
On assumption of office, he served as Governor until December 17, 2020 when he was removed from office by way of impeachment.
Passing the resolution to remove him from office, the Senate found him guilty of plundering public resources, persistently intimidating and molesting officers of the County Executive Committee and unlawfully using public fund to pay for his daughter’s travel to New York, USA.
He was also found guilty of charges of persistently and wilfully using, publicizing and publishing abusive and unbecoming words and language as evidenced by his social media posts.
Further that he made numerous rants in which he hailed abuses and conducted himself in a manner that undermines and demeans the office of the Governor.
In a separate interview, Mr Sonko accused former President Uhuru of being behind his ouster. He said his removal from office and that of Kiambu governor Mr Ferdinand Waitutu was because they were not on good terms with the last regime.
“My impeachment and that of Waititu were politically instigated because we differed with former President Uhuru. The system introduced Nairobi Metropolitan Services (NMS), and when I refused to sign for transfer of funds to NMS – because there was no law empowering us to do so – I was impeached,” Sonko said.
He also claimed that his impeachment did not meet the required threshold since the assembly lacked the number after he allegedly took 65 MCAs to Kwale on the voting day. Mr Sonko was impeached after 88 MCAs out of 122 voted in favour of his removal.
East African Court of Justice
Sonko is challenging his impeachment in the East African Court of Justice based in Arusha.
In July 2022, Sonko filed an application before the East African Court of Justice seeking to suspend implementation of the Supreme Court decision that upheld his impeachment.
He says the decision of the Supreme Court and courts of Kenya was arrived at in an unjust manner.
Its effect, Sonko said, is to curtail his political rights and the people he represents.
He said the Presiding Judge at the High court who rendered the decision was then currently facing a disciplinary tribunal over his removal as a result of receiving bribes and influencing the decision that resulted in his removal from office.
Sonko wants the EAC court to suspend the execution of the decision by the Apex court pending a hearing and determination of the application.
Part of the complaint before the tribunal, he says, is that Chitembwe was biased and mischievous in the manner in which he handled his impeachment case.
“The determination of the proceedings before the tribunal will have a bearing on the challenged judgment of the high court culminating in this appeal,” Sonko said.
Sonko says it’s only fair if the Supreme court judgement is reviewed or set aside and heard under the circumstance that the conduct of Chitembwe would be considered.
Currently, Johnson Sakaja is faced with similar corruption allegations pointing at a traditional trend. Evans Kidero, the initial city’s boss still battles corruption cases from his days in office to date.
The dark past of Benedict Kiema Kavua the Procurement Manager of Nairobi City Water and Sewerage Company has caught up with him. He was recently transferred to a different department but rushed to the employment court to reverse the decision making many wonder as to why he would put such a spirited fight against the move yet his new station is not that far.
Word is Kiema is buying time to to coverup suspected corrupt dealings that he allegedly got into while in office. City Hall insiders also claim that the besieged manager has been in the radar of investigative agencies including Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) and the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC).
In a quick rejoinder, Nahashon Muguna, the city water company’s managing director moved to court to stop Kiema’s application saying he had obtained the order blocking his transfer last month by concealing material facts from the court.
Mr Muguna said due to the nature of the company’s mandate and as a matter of policy, it is expected that employees may be transferred or reassigned roles in order to achieve efficiency and optimum performance.
“It is therefore clear that he (Mr Kavua) did not come to court with clean hands and in a bid to obtain the orders he sought, deliberately failed to disclose this aspect which is material to the matters in question,” Mr Muguna said in a statement filed in court.
Speaking to Kenya Insights, an insider says Kiema’s fears are based on his past questionable deals and that an audit of the accounting books and records would expose him and also the irregular procurement practices he oversaw as supply chain manager.
“Kiema is literally in trouble since a report on all requests for quotations is required on RFQ register (where bidders sign as they pick), appointments by the MD for opening and evaluation committee, opening minutes, evaluation minutes’ copies of LPOs and professional opinions.” said the source.
Auditor Report
In the auditor general’s report released last year, Nairobi Water lost over Sh10 billion in the financial year ended June 2022 due to faulty water meters, unreconciled financial statements and allowances paid to its staff.
Auditor-General Nancy Gathungu said the utility firm, which supplies the commodity to city residents, sold a total of 96,404,533 cubic meters of water during the year under review.
This translated to Sh5.63 billion of income using the rate of Sh58.5 per cubic meter. However, the water firm declared an operating income of Sh4.79 billion leading to an undeclared income of Sh848 million.
Ms Gathungu also observed in the report that the water firm failed to declare an extra Sh200 million that was obtained as levy water and sewerage services levy to the customers.
During the year under review, the water firm produced 192,787, 851 cubic meters of treated water but its records understated the volume of water produced by indicating it was 178,526, 912 cubic meters.
This, the auditor general observed, led to a loss of Sh834 million as projected revenue. The report also indicates that the water firm lost up to 50 percent of its projected water sales, which is way above the 25 percent of the non-revenue water threshold that is allowed by the Water Services Regulatory Board.
Although the official company records indicate the firm produced 178,526, 912 cubic meters of water only 96,404, 533 cubic meters were billed meaning that it lost a Sh9.8 billion according to the auditor general.
The report notes that the volumes lost are inclusive of the water and sewer charges at the rate of Sh102.375 per cubic meter.
Desperation
Word is the embattled manager is disparately asking for money from his friendly suppliers to ‘fight cartels hell bent to oust me from City Hall’ the money he says is needed to ‘handle’ the big case he’s having in court, how he plans to handle it remains unknown.
In his objection, Mr Muguna told the court company has the power to reorganize the company to improve productivity.
He said Mr Kavua had been in the said management position since 2012 and therefore had 12 years of management experience.
“It is therefore appropriate that his experience in the company should indeed be utilised in other departments and this is in line with best practices where movement of people has yielded better results and eradicated complacency,” he said.
The Managing Director said that there was no arbitrariness or malice in the changes made. Furthermore, there is no major change of location that would cause prejudice if Mr Kavua reported to his new position immediately.
Mr Muguna said in the contract signed in September 2010, it was clear to Mr Kavua that he would be required to serve the company in any part of the county.
The managing director said Mr Kavua did not protest two years ago when he was transferred from his previous post and place of work to the head office to serve as supply chain manager.
He said Mr Kavua did not protest but reported to the new post and reported on the same day he signed the letter.
“So I am very surprised to see in his application before this court that he is complaining that he was not given adequate notice when in this case he is not even moving from the head office yet when he moved from the Western Region to the head office he did not protest and in fact reported on the same day the letter was given to him,” he said.
Mr Muguna revealed that the company currently has 33 management positions, of which 28 are substantively filled and another five are in acting capacity. “This shows that it is important to make transfers when deemed necessary,” he said.
A businesswoman has written to Nairobi Governor Johnson Sakaja over the refusal by county officials to remove illegally installed water tanks, smoke extractor and gas cylinder at a popular restaurant.
Joanina Wanjiku Maina, the landlady of the building that houses Trattoria Restaurant pointed out in a letter to Sakaja that the High Court quashed approval granted to the restaurant to install the items including a cold storage.
She said through her lawyer Kethi Kilonzo that the LPG Gas has blocked the fire exit, posing risk to other tenants at Town House building.
“We urge you to guide your officers in charge of Public health to protect the public, the county’s main commercial District, your personal physical well-being and the rule of law,” lawyer Kethi told Governor Sakaja on the letter.
Despite the High Court decision, Sakaja’s administration has refused to enforce the removal of the offending installations and has instead prosecuted the landlady with the view of intimidating her.
“The 1000kg LPG gas cylinder on the fire the exit, and the wall constructed blocking the fire exit is not only a danger to the environs but also a danger to you and the county government officials who sits within impact distance, God forbid should the LPG cylinder explode,” says businesswoman Maina through lawyer Kethi.
The proprietor of City’s Trattoria Restaurant is facing contempt charges alongside the Nairobi county executive officer in charge of health over failure to obey a court order issued five years ago.
Maina is the owner of the building located at Central Business District, which is land reference No. 209/2362, Town house, and which has been subject to litigation from High Court to the Supreme Court between the owner of the building and Trattoria Restaurant owner Gaetano Ruffo.
The litigation stemmed from the move by county government to approve for placement of items on the fire exit and assembly points of the buildings, including a 1000kg LPG cylinder, that pause a continuing danger to public health.
The county continue to fail to enforce the removal of LPG cylinder despite a disaster that happened in Embakasi the other day.
The Inspector General of Police Japheth Koome and the Director of Criminal Investigation Mohamed Amin have been summoned to appear in court physically on Monday 20th November 2023 over the alleged abduction of a Nairobi county employee.
Justice Chacha Mwita ordered the two to appear in court and explain the whereabouts of Osman Khalif a personal assistant to Nairobi County Governor Johnson Sakaja who is said to have been kidnapped at Sarit Centre on Friday 10th November 2023.
The Judge’s orders came after Law Society of Kenya President Eric Theuri, lawyers Dancun Okatch and Oringo Waswa representing Osman Khalif informed the Judge that the orders issued by the court seeking to have him or his abductors brought to court have not been complied with.
Justice Mwita has also ordered Safaricom PLC limited to produce car tracking records of abductors’ vehicle.
According to the LSK, Osman who is an employee of Nairobi County was abducted a week ago while in the company of his wife who was left at the parking at Sarit Centre in Nairobi.
According to Yasin, his brother was taken by people who were driving a double-cabin motor vehicle registration number KCT 163H. “They had pistols with them and they refused to identify themselves. Up to now, we have no idea where my brother is,” he added.
The family has added that Nairobi Governor Johnson Sakaja was aware of what was happening but yet to reach out to the family.
Abdi served as the MCA for South C ward from 2017 but was defeated by Abbas Khalif of the Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) in last year’s general election. He has been in the middle of City Hall scandals that has challenged the city boss.
Pastoralists Parliamentary group led by Kamukunji Mp Yusuf are demanding the Inspector General Japhet Koome to release former South C MCA Osman Khalif whom they allege was abducted by security agencies.
Recently detectives raided the private office of Nairobi governor Johnson Sakaja in a probe into claims of intimidation and threats to witnesses in a case under probe. We have information that two of the governor’s aides are on the radar. They are said to be the real masterminds of the multimillions shillings City Hall scandal that saw president William Ruto recently claim while attending the devolution conference that counties are at the centre of mega corruption in Kenya.
According to sources within the investigations, EACC is likely to take over the case from DCI. It has emerged that State House and deputy president Rigathi Gachagua are keenly following the unfolding events at City Hall.
According to sources, at least Sh2 billion has disappeared. For now, a multistate security team is profiling what those linked to the scam have recently acquired in the names of proxies including girlfriends and family members, both inside and outside the country.
Informed sources reveal that those implicated had money transferred from approved budgets for various departments to the departments they wanted nine companies paid.
Linked to the scandal which many say has even shocked the governor are Osman Khalif, Sakaja’s liaison officer and former South B MCA. Then we have David Njoroge, chief-of-staff, City Hall. One Priscilla Mahinda the chief officer based at the governor’s office name also features prominently.
Osman Khalif
They have usurped chief officers and county executive’s powers as they control payments in a hawkish manner. In fact it is said, one CEO of finance, Charles Kerich, has beer sidelined and at one time threatene to resign. According to those privy to investigations, Osman and Njoroge are the faces much feared at City Hall and when they visit one’s office, the are either pushing to have a friendly firm win lucrative tender pushing for multimillions shillings payments.
Reports we have are that Osman and Njoroge plotted for the downfall of one Josphine then in charge of ward development. They wanted her to ask from contractors 20 percent pocket money on any tender awarded, something that raised eyebrows.
According to information we have, the theft of departmental budgets is being unearthed. One key forgery at the centre involves forged signature of one Karanja of roads department. It is worth noting that Karanja retired from City Hall but his signature was used in the payment of Sh35m to the controversial nine companies.
The raid came following leads into claims that one of personal assistants are threatening witnesses. The raid happened on Friday at the offices along Riverside in the city. The officers, according to inside information, interviewed a number of staff there and summoned others for further grilling.
Suspended Nairobi county attorney Lydia Kwambika was questioned by detectives investigating controversial payments at city hall and money laundering claims. Kwamboka recorded her statement for the better part of Monday afternoon, Wednesday and Thursday before being shown the door.
However, police are for now treating her as both a witness and whistleblower in the prove they’re conducting. Other officials said the development is a positive move into the probe.
Sources said she met the top leadership at Criminal Investigations, including the director Mohamed Amin, and head of investigations David Birech who listened to her narration before an investigator was called to record her statement. This is in regard to a case of among others, money-laundering that police are investigating.
Also seen at the DCI on Monday last week was the county finance chief officer Asha Abdi. She is said to have delivered bundles of documents the DCI wants in relation to the ongoing probe. Other sources said the team has analysed movements of the money that was paid in the saga and they may soon apply for freezing of some accounts.
They are are moving to even court to seek orders to freeze some accounts. Birech first wrote to the county government in July demanding a number of documents. They include a list of tender documents, requisitions by the user department, award contracts, delivery and inspection reports and all local purchase orders issued to profiled nine companies believed to have been used to siphon the money.
According to DCI, the nine listed firms are believed to have been used in suspected money laundering services not rendered.
“This office is investigating a case of suspected money laundering in which Nairobi county government is alleged to have fraudulently made payments to companies which did not render services,” the letter reads. The letter from the DCI was addressed to the Nairobi county secretary Patrick Analo and received on July 24 2023.
The DCI’s probe into the issue at City Hall comes a month after the Controller of Budget Margaret Nyakang’o declined to approve Sh1.5 billion expenditure requisitions they made to pay legal fees and development expenditure made without properly providing supportive documents.
The Nairobi county government leadership had planned to effect payments amounting to Sh2 billion and controversially selected 19 lawfirms as pending bills without proper documentation.
In a recent appearance before the county assembly committee on justice and legal affairs chaired by Jared Akama, Kwamboka informed the committee that her roles were usurped by the cartel who went ahead to pay the firms which owe the county huge amounts, contrary to her advice which was targeting to clear pending bills from firms with small amounts.
She questioned the criteria used in determining matters to be paid despite the sector having a budget to settle the small matters and what happened to the allocated budget of Sh60 million. Sources say Engineer Karanja’s forged signature to facilitate move of millions of shillings in approved budget is key in the probe. Detectives from the cyber crime and general fraud units are involved in the investigations.
The detectives are also investigating payments totaling to Sh592,558,629 paid to different firms by City Hall in June, 2023. His chief of staff Njoroge alias Davy, Mahinda have bought houses in Kileleshwa, Runda among other areas. Most of the payments are believed to be for work that cannot be authenticated while some are abandoned projects.
Detectives are also relying on crucial information shared by disgruntled but genuine suppliers whose payments have not been released. This is despite the county having received over Sh70 billion from the exchequer who released all monies owed to counties.
The nine companies are Brigit West Limited, Future Link Limited, AR Pharmaceuticals Limited, Larsen Investment Company, Burasha General Suppliers Limited, Tweem Limited, Cloud Mobile Technologies Limited,, Istanbul Investment Limited and Ramecon Engineering Limited.
The documents under investigation include; requisitions by user department, award of contracts, delivery and inspection reports and all local purchase orders. It is alleged that the county had yet to fully comply and that relevant departments were requesting for more time to avail the documents.
In July, the Controller of Budget declined the county’s request to approve Sh 1billion in pending bills owed to legal firms that served it.
The COB directed CEC for finance to reveal why the county failed to provide the payment plan, which would enable the matching of individual payees to the requisition.
In a letter dated June 27 2023, she requested county executive committee member for finance Kerich to provide clarifications on the exchequer requisition for legal fees totaling Sh1,068,277,305.
It is not clear how the county maneuvered its way to pay Sh1.4 billion even without approvals from the user department.
The Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) has launched investigations into suspected fraudulent payment of hundreds of millions of shillings by the county government of Nairobi for goods never supplied and services not rendered.
DCI says the nine listed firms are believed to have been used in a money laundering scheme and fraudulent payments.
In a letter dated July 21, the Director of DCI’s Investigations Bureau (IB) David Birech wrote to Nairobi Governor Johnson Sakaja demanding a list of tender documents, requisitions by user department, award contracts, delivery and inspection reports and all local purchase orders issued to profiled nine companies believed to have been used to siphon the money.
“This office is investigating a case of suspected money laundering in which Nairobi County Government is alleged to have fraudulently made payments to companies which did not render services,” Birech wrote.
“We further request to assign officers who have knowledge of the various processes listed above to assist us with information on their roles and record statements to that effect,” the letter added.
Collusion with officers
Preliminary investigations reveal that various section heads colluded with procurement officers, contractors and the County Treasury officials to siphon hundreds of millions from the public coffers.
The nine companies are Larsen Investment Company, Burasha General Suppliers Limited Tweem Limited, Future Link Limited, and Cloud Mobile Technologies Limited. Others are AR Pharmaceuticals Limited, Instabul Investment Limited, Ramecon Engineering Limited and Brigit West Limited.
DCI’s probe comes just a month after the Controller of Budget (CoB) Margaret Nyakang’o declined to approve Sh1.5billion expenditure requisitions they made to pay legal fees and development expenditure without proper providing supportive documents.
Nairobi County government had made an exchequer requisition of Sh2 billion to 19 law firms as pending bills without proper documentation. City Hall further made an additional clearance request of Sh379million categorised as development expenditure of building and construction supplies claimed to be ‘air supply’.
“The schedule of 19 firms to be paid does not include the invoices’ dates; therefore, it is difficult to ascertain whether they are pending bills or related to works done and invoiced in the current financial year. Please, therefore, revise the schedule to include the date of the invoices and attached copies of the payment vouchers for the 19 firms,” the CoB wrote. The letter, dated June 27, Ref: COB/NBI/001/171(11), was addressed to Sakaja through the Finance and Economic Planning County Executive Committee Member Charles Kerich.
“Further, it is difficult to match the proposed payments with the pending bills report earlier presented to this office,” the CoB added.
COB requisitions
Sakaja’s administration made the two requisitions on June 19 (Sh562,124,660) and another amounting to Sh509,152,645.
Nyakang’o instructed the County Treasury to provide the basis for the legal fees, status of each court case including copies of judgment where applicable.
Also, the CoB’s office demanded a clear breakdown detailing the criteria used in the selection of the said payments, the recommended ‘first-in-first-out’ method used in identifying the bills and information on whether the proposed payment is a partial payment or a final payment to the legal firms.
The payments had also been blocked through a law suit. According to documents filed in court, Sakaja’s administration owes various law firms more than Sh21billion as pending bills as of January 2023.
Documents filed in court show the law firms to be paid include Makallah Theuri & Company Advocates (Sh60million), L.N Nyaribo & Company (Sh50million), Okatch & Partners (70million), Okubasu Munene & Kazungu Advocates (Sh30million), Gikunda Miriti & Company (Sh67million) and Masire & Mogusu (Sh27.5million). Others are Anne Munene & Company (Sh34million), Koceyo & Company Advocates (Sh43.8million), Roba & Associates (51.8million), Ummi Bashir & Company Advocates (Sh32million), J.W Wachira Advocates (Sh58million), Momanyi and Associates (Sh91million), Jamal Bake & Associates (Sh47million) and Bespoke Insurance Brokers Limited (Sh28million).
The office of the Controller of Budget (CoB) has launched investigations into claims that Sh560 million in City Hall staff funds has been diverted by the executive.
At the same time, the Ministry of Labour has appealed to the 12,000 City Hall workers not to down their tools over the cash diversion claims, urging their union to await the completion of a consultative process that is already underway.
The union had last week issued a 21-day strike notice over the claims while also calling for investigation and audit of the county government’s expenditure for the stated period.
The alleged diversion claims relate to statutory deductions and union dues amounting to Sh490.47 million for the period between October and December 2021, as well as staff claims for the month of January 2022 totalling Sh70 million.
In a letter to the Kenya County Government Workers Union (KCGWU) General Secretary Roba Duba, Controller of Budget Margaret Nyakang’o said they had taken up the matter and would conduct investigations in accordance with article 252(1)(a) and (b) of the Constitution.
Withdrawal of funds
Dr Nyakang’o said her office would immediately review the Nairobi County government’s requisitions for withdrawal of funds for the month of October, November and December 2021 to ascertain the allegations of diversion.
“This will help us ascertain whether there was diversion of funds and that public money was utilised in a prudent and responsible manner in line with article 210(d) of the Constitution,” said Dr Nyakang’o in the February 3, 2022 letter addressed to Mr Roba and City Hall Finance executive Allan Igambi.
“Further, we urge you to share with us any evidence you may have to support the review and our investigation,” she added.
The union had given a three-week ultimatum to City Hall to remit all the deductions, failing which they would resort to industrial action.
“…Be warned, failure to pay all the deductions within 21 days will leave us with no option but to institute serious industrial action and hold the concerned officers personally responsible as to attendant consequences thereof,” said Mr Duba in a statement.
Mr Roba complained that failure to remit the deductions had exposed City Hall staff untold suffering, with those who had bank loans being penalised.
For their part, the Labour ministry urged the workers to suspend the strike notice.
In a letter dated February 1, 2022, the ministry’s Chief Industrial Relations Officer Kisurulia Kuloba said they had appointed Mr Boaz Musandu to assist the workers’ union in resolving the issue through dialogue.
“In the light of the aforestated, the union is required to immediately suspend the strike notice they have issued and wait for the outcome of the envisaged consultations as the dispute resolution mechanism has already been set in motion,” reads the letter.
The Anti-Corruption Court was yesterday told how former Nairobi Governor Evans Kidero siphoned millions of shillings from City Hall coffers through pretext the colossal sums were for ‘purchase of sugar’.
Testifying in the Sh213 million graft case against the former county boss and other former City Hall officials, EACC investigating officer Mulki Umar laid bare how monies were channelled through two companies which had allegedly tendered to supply goods to City Hall.
Mulki presented bank transfers revealing how the Sh213 million were channelled through the accounts of Lowder Wholesalers and Ngurumani Ltd.
In the bank cheques trail, EACC monitored the movement of the funds from the City Hall accounts to the companies accounts and eventually into Kidero’s personal accounts held at the Family Bank.
Mulki presented cheques and supporting payments vouchers of the huge cash transfers. She told trial magistrate Douglas Ogoti that Lowder received from the county Sh24 million in it’s account and transferred the same amount to Kidero’s personal accounts. The officer said on interrogation, Lowder directors told EACC the money they transferred to Kidero was for payment of sugar.
But when Kidero was questioned by EACC officers, he admitted receiving the money but denied it was for buying sugar and said the same was for purchase of a Range Rover for Lowder.
“On October 12, 2016, Kidero was interviewed by EACC officers based at Integrity Centre. In his statement, he confirmed having received the Sh14 million and Sh10 million totalling to Sh24 million from Lowder,” said Mulik.
However, EACC reached out to National Transport and Safety Authority (NTSA) and found out the alleged Range Rover was not sold to Lowder nor transferred as alleged by Kidero. The alleged vehicle was in Kidero’s name.
Authorised transfer The officers told the court the money irregularly paid from City Hall’s Kenya Commercial Bank accounts to accounts of both Ngurumani and Lowder is Sh 213,327,300.
The court heard Ngurumani received a total of Sh103,752,540 while Lodwar received Sh109,574,760 before the same was transferred to personal accounts of Kidero and those of his co-accused.
Mulki said neither Ngurumani nor Lowder was able to produce documents to justify the payments by City Hall.
The magistrate heard Kidero’s co-accused authorised the transfer of the money from the accounts of the two companies.
The court heard that former County Secretary Lilian Ndegwa authorised irregular payment of Sh26 million from City Hall accounts to Ngurumani and a further Sh19 million to Lodwar.
Former Finance boss Jimmy Mutuku Kiamba authorised irregular payment of Sh19 million to Lowdar and Sh72 million to Ngurumani.
The officers further tabled in court documents showing how former head of Treasury at Nairobi County received Sh7. 5 million in his personal account from Lowdar.
Meanwhile, Kidero has suffered a major blow after the High Court ordered him to pay Sh400 million tax to KRA after failing to prove the funds in question were raised for his gubernatorial campaigns in 2017.
The order comes after Milimani Commercial High Court Judge David Majanja overturned a decision by the Tax Appeals Tribunal dated March 6, 2017 that held that Kidero had showed the source of the Sh400 million and that it was up to the commissioner to establish if the funds had been utilised for the campaigns, thus shifting the burden of proof to the commissioner.
The judge while overturning the tribunal’s decision agreed with the KRA that Kidero failed to discharge his burden showing that the Sh423 million he received was political campaign contributions.
“Consequently, the Tribunal erred in imposing on the Commissioner the burden of disproving the Respondent’s (Kidero) contention that the Sh423,000,000 was election campaign contributions when he had not provided sufficient evidence to surmount his obligation to establish his source of income. The judgement of the Tax Appeals Tribunal dated March 6, 2017 be and is hereby set aside,” Justice Majanja ruled.
Calls are intensifying for the arrest of Nairobi Assembly’s speaker and board’s arrest following the unlawful appointment of Romeo Gavin Castro who was appointed contrary to the court orders that had directed for Pauline Akuku, the Deputy Clerk Administration be appointed to be appointed.
On Monday, a Labour Court temporarily barred Adah Onyango from acting as Nairobi City County Assembly Clerk and Secretary to the County Assembly service board.
Employment and Labour Judge Nduma Nderi issued the order following an application filed by Human Rights activist Okiya Omtatah.
Omtatah argues Onyango violated the law in that she has acted in the office of the Clerk for more than the maximum six months allowed in law.
He says Onyango should have vacated office and handed over to her alternate, Pauline Akuku, the Deputy Clerk Administration.
Onyango was appointed on Monday June 7, 2021 as the acting clerk and secretary to the County assembly service board.
She ought to have vacated the said office on December 6.
Onyango was an accomplice to the City Hall cartels and worked closed with ousted clerk Jacob Ngwele and was Abdi Guyo’s puppet.
Contrary to the court orders to Ms Pauline Akuku, the Deputy Clerk Administration as the acting clerk, we’ve learnt that forces are not comfortable with her and instead have appointed a junior officer whom they’re sure of manipulating to continue with their fleecing of the county funds.
In a letter seen by Kenya Insights, MCA Mary Ariviza has invited the EACC to investigate the speaker and board over the irregular appointment of Mr. Castro.
“Section 21 of the County Assembly Services Act, 2017 provides that in the absence of the Clerk, the Deputy Clerk should act in the position. In particular,” she says.
The said Section provides;-
“21. If the office of the Clerk is vacant, or if for any reason the Clerk is unable to exercise the functions of his or her office, the Deputy Clerk or, in the absence of the Deputy Clerk, any other officer in the Service appointed by the Board may exercise all the functions, duties and powers of the Clerk”
“The Nairobi City County Assembly Organizational Structure, Staff Establishment and Career Progression guidelines, provides for two Deputy Clerks one in charge of Legislative Services (Adah Onyango) and another in charge of Administrative Services (Pauline Sarah Akulu). It therefore follows that since Ms. Adah Onyango has been barred
by the Court from acting, Ms. Pauline Sarah Akuku (Deputy Clerk Administrative Services), the alternate Deputy Clerk should proceed to act in the position of Clerk and serve as the Accounting Officer of the Assembly.” The letter reads.
She continues, “However, in blatant abuse of office and in flagrant abuse of the law, the Nairobi City
County Assembly Service Board on Tuesday, 21* December, 2021 appointed a junior officer, Mr. Romeo Gavin Castro to serve in the position of Clerk.”
“Therefore, I humbly request the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) to investigate the circumstances under which the Service Board disregarded the provisions of Section 21 of the County Assembly Services Act, 2017 and appointed a junior officer to act in the office of the Clerk, Nairobi City County Assembly.” It concludes.
Meanwhile, according to a letter seen by Kenya Insights, the shortchanged Akuku has written a protest letter to the speaker Benson Mutura over the irregular appointment made by the board.
“As you are aware, the Nairobi City County Assembly Organizational Structure, Staff
Establishment and Career Progression guidelines, provides for two Deputy Clerks one in charge of Legislative Services (Adah Onyango) and another in charge of Administrative Services (Pauline Sarah Akuku). It therefore follows that since my colleague has been barred by the Court from acting, I being the alternate Deputy Clerk should proceed to act
in the position of Clerk and serve as the Accounting Officer of the Assembly.” The letter reads.
“However, as communicated in your Memo, the Service Board in disregard of the above provisions of the law, has appointed another officer to act in the position. Accordingly, I kindly request for your clarification on the circumstances leading to the actions of the Service Board since the same will automatically lead to legal challenges in the office of the Clerk. You may wish to note that the Court in ELRCC/E951/2021 and ELRC]R/E30/2021
reinstated me to my substantive position of Deputy Clerk (Administrative Services).” She says.
It is not the first time Akuku is getting shortchanged, according to a letter in our possession, the board had resolved in June to appoint Akuku to replace Gichana. Anyango who’s an accomplice to the cartels was appointed instead.
The letter.
The board is being accused of abusing office and making appointments that align with the city hall cartels interests.
According to the content of raw minutes from the board meeting held on 21st obtained by Kenya Insights from our insider source, the board foolishly discarded the court’s order claiming that the position of the deputy clerk doesn’t exist and that any officer could take up the acting position.
In the meeting attended by the ousted Ag clerk Adah Anyango, the board concluded, “the positions of deputy clerk doesn’t exist, the positions is declared null and void.” The minutes reads.
Minutes from the meeting below;
City Hall is on the spot over unwarranted court battles and outsourcing legal services to cartel law firms that continue to milk the coffers. Officials have been accused of making up cases liaising with law firms for a cutoff. This is a classic example of such where the law is discarded to make way for a fresh legal battle.
The board directed for the legal department to file with court a stay order to communicate that ‘they’ve complied but not win agreement with court orders’ this lays ground for a full blown yet avoidable court battles simply because the board, speaker are compromised and in the grip of city hall cartels. It’s a theft syndicate. That’s why the EACC must investigate every board member and the speaker, they’ll strike gold.
We’ve gathered that since Mutura took office, over Sh100M has been paid to the cartel law firms. For instance, Duncan Okatch of Okatch & Partners advocates, the lawyer implicated in multimillion scam case that saw Nigerian scammer Hushpuppi incarcerated by the US authorities. Okatch played a role in money laundering. His client Abdulrahman who was involved in the scam is set for extradition to the U.S. following request by FBI to the Kenyan authorities.
Okatch is said to be one of the biggest beneficiaries of the legal tendering in the assembly. His payments are not only quickly approved but the withdrawals of the funds are as suspicious. Money will be withdrawn under hours of approval.
A cut off is often given to the speaker and the board. EACC can follow the money trail.
Romeo was appointed and sworn in under hours.
The board members on the spot over abuse of office include; Charles Thuo, MCA, Vice Chair, Catherine Okoth, MCA, Fatuma Affey, and Willis Okello.
Running of Nairobi Assembly is heavily compromised as former councilors from the municipal council align themselves to reinstate their corrupt practices that marred the operations.
Mutura who’s the speaker was a former councilor, Abdi Guyo who’s the lead cartel in the group is also a former councilor. Mutunga who was recently appointed by Kananu as the deputy governor is also a former councilor. His appointment was however stopped by EACC following his history of corrupt deals. Unknown to Governor Kananu, the scheme of suggesting Mutunga by the cartels was to later impeach her and Mutunga to take over, the municipal cartels would’ve then taken over the operations.
Despite corruption allegations against him, the former governor Evans Kidero had put in place structures that have been dismantled.
Is the president aware of the evil schemes of the city hall cartels who’ve destroyed the basic structures of the county government? How can they for example allege that the office of deputy clerk is not existent, a body that was formed through the public service commission, a body that was tabled, debated, approved by the assembly. In absolute and disregard for the law, the board that is fueled by impunity continue to give a middle finger to the law and run the city with extreme disrespect.
The president, EACC must move with speed and save the city before it remains an empty shell.
On Monday, a Labour Court temporarily barred Adah Onyango from acting as Nairobi City County Assembly Clerk and Secretary to the County Assembly service board.
Employment and Labour Judge Nduma Nderi issued the order following an application filed by Human Rights activist Okiya Omtatah.
Omtatah argues Onyango violated the law in that she has acted in the office of the Clerk for more than the maximum six months allowed in law.
He says Onyango should have vacated office and handed over to her alternate, Pauline Akuku, the Deputy Clerk Administration.
Onyango was appointed on Monday June 7, 2021 as the acting clerk and secretary to the County assembly service board.
She ought to have vacated the said office on December 6.
Onyango was an accomplice to the City Hall cartels and worked closed with ousted clerk Jacob Ngwele and was Abdi Guyo’s puppet.
Contrary to the court orders to Ms Pauline Akuku, the Deputy Clerk Administration as the acting clerk, we’ve learnt that forces are not comfortable with her and instead have appointed a junior officer whom they’re sure of manipulating to continue with their fleecing of the county funds.
In a clear breach of the law, Kenya Insights has been informed that Romeo Gavin Castro has been appointed by the cartels as the acting clerk.
The clause contravened.
Because the deputy clerk is present, appointing a junior officer as replacement is abuse of power.
At this point EACC and the court that is being disrespected must reign on the matters of City Hall before it’s completely run down by the cartels who’re hell bent to ensure they place their cronies in key positions to pilfer funds.
Nairobi County is investigating Sh6.97 billion in pending bills owed to law firms from cases handled by lawyers since 2017.
The county’s committee on Justice and Legal affairs says 130 law companies are demanding Sh6,971,837,929 from the county government.
Documents presented on the floor of
House indicate that four firms are
demanding Sh3.23 billion of the total
6.97 billion.
The committee wants scrutiny of Kandie Mudeizi and Mutai Company advocates seeking Sh530 million, KTK and Company advocates firm associated with Donald Kipkorir invoices of Sh413 million and Nyamberi & Company advocates demand for Sh5oo million.
On October 27, 2021, Clerk of the Senate wrote to Governor Anne Kananu requesting a statement over an alleged illegal payment of legal fees for outsourced law firms by the Nairobi City County Government.
In-house council
Among the matters Senate wanted clarified included concerns why payments to law firms constituted 31 per cent of total pending bills
amounting to Sh795.9 million from the Sh2.5 billion issued to clear pending bills for the 2018/19 financial year.
The Nairobi County Attorney Lydia Kwamboka says an in-house council will save the assembly huge bills going to lawyers.
“I have been wanting to create an inner
house team of lawyers in order to curb
the number of cases we give to external
lawyers,” said Kwamboka.
Sectorial Committee on Justice and Legal Affairs has recommended settling all verified pending bills owed to law firms between 2017 and 2020.
The county has also been grappling with
pending bills inherited from the defunct
City Council.
For lawyers it never matter whether the
case was won or not. They have to be
paid.
The issue of law firms and row with MCAs didn’t start today, it has been a thorn in flesh with officials accused of working with law firms in fictitious cases to defraud the county.
In January, Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) has launched investigations into multi-million shilling dealings between 25 law firms and the Nairobi County government.
The probe was focused on payment of legal fees by City Hall to the firms between 2013 and 2020.
The EACC, in a letter dated January 21, wants the county secretary to furnish it with the specific case files handled by the 25 law firms between 2013 and 2020, including letters of instructions and contract agreements.
“The commission is undertaking investigations at Nairobi City County in respect of payments of legal fees to the following firms. To facilitate our investigations, kindly but urgently furnish us with the original documents in respect to the mentioned firms,” states the letter.
The law firms
The firms included Irungu Kang’ata and Co. Advocates, Osundwa and Co. Advocates, Kwanga Mboya and Co. Advocates, Kithi and Co. Advocates, Wanjiku Maina and Co. Advocates, E.Onyango and Co. Advocates, J.O Magolo and Co. Advocates, Ario Advocates, Maskam ( Asanyo), E.N Omoti and Co. Advocates and Ogeto Ottachi and Co. Advocates.
The EACC further asked to be furnished with all payment vouchers, cheque counterfoil and a list of pre-qualified law firms for the period under investigation.
This is in addition to minutes approving the list of pre-qualified law firms and any other documents relevant to the probe.
MCAs’ complaints
The probe comes a few months after Nairobi MCAs raised concerns over the payment of large amounts of money to some law firms yet the county has not won any court cases recently.
The ward representatives also made allegations of favouritism by City Hall in the clearance of lawyers’ bills instead of small scale suppliers owed less money.
City Hall paid legal fees to the tune of Sh795.9 million out of the Sh2.5 billion allocated for clearance of all pending bills, locking out other suppliers and contractors.
As a result, MCAs, through a motion by Silvia Museiya (nominated), called on the county executive to come up with a policy to streamline outsourcing of legal services.
The legislators alleged that the outsourcing has turned into a business, with some lawyers colluding with officers in the executive, including those in the office of the county attorney, to siphon money from the county.
They claimed an unnamed law firm was paid Sh250 million despite not carrying out any legal transaction with the county government.
Audit report
Painting a grim picture of the state in the legal department at City Hall, the Auditor-General’s report for the 2016/2017 financial year revealed the department spent Sh592.4 million on unauthorised payments.
According to the report, the department spent Sh645.3 million on legal costs against an approved budget of Sh105 million.
Interestingly, the bulk of the money, Sh314.4 million, was paid to some 12 firms. The payment was not included in the Integrated Financial Management Information System (Ifmis).
In February 2019, the assembly’s Public Accounts Committee found that the legal department spent Sh480 million, more than four times the Sh100 million budgeted for.
The payments were made without documentary evidence, including a total of Sh318.4 million which was sent to several lawyers.
In the 2018/2019 financial year, a total of Sh795.9 million was paid to 48 law firms yet only eight raised fee notes.
During that financial year, 335 cases were handled by the legal department but only 12 of them were successful. The rest were either withdrawn or lost.
The demons of City Hall didn’t disappear even with the transfer of critical functions to the General Badi’s led NMS. The City’s control center which is synonymous with scandals continues to make the familiar headlines even with Nairobi Deputy Governor Ann Kananu who took from the corrupt Mike Sonko being in control.
The DG is currently fighting numerous cases that has risked her getting arrested.
She was recently summoned by the Directorate of Criminal Investigations KRA Unit investigating a case involving the failure to remit income tax, withholding tax and PAYE contrary to Section 97 of the Tax Procedure Act.
Kananu moved to court to block her pending arrest over failure by county to remit Sh2.1bn tax arrears to KRA.
In the same week, court of appeal dealt a blow to Sonko who’s challenging the legality of Kananu occupying the office. Court ruled that Sonko having stayed out of office for over 10 months, he was no longer a Governor. This paved way for the swearing in of Kananu as the governor.
However, the celebrations was short lived as Sonko moved to the Supreme Court and stopped the swearing in.
Now, analysts believe that there’s a grand scheme by powerful forces to reinstate Sonko as the governor.
A network of powerful cartels in the corridors of justice is said to be frantically pushing for the return of former Nairobi governor Mike Sonko. In the scheme are judges, lawyers and politicians. This happens amidst fierce escalation of supremacy war between the executive and some individuals within the judiciary perceived to be bitter with Uhuru Kenyatta and who have consequently opted to team up with William Ruto, who pulls strings behind the scenes.
The mafias believed to have fully infiltrated the judiciary ostensibly played a major role in latest court drama that saw Sonko secure orders from the Supreme Court barring the swearing-in of acting governor Anne Kananu. There are predictions that Sonko is likely to be sneaked back to his former seat through a ruling that is coming in November in which he wants the appellate court to overturn the High Court decision and declare that he was illegally impeached.
Understandably, the idea to block Kananu’s swearing-in which came as a shocker was a result of high level consultation among the cartels, aware that Sonko stood no chance of getting back his job in the event that the deputy governor was sworn in as governor.
Failure to stop the swearing-in meant that even if Sonko was to get a favourable ruling in November, the verdict would have nothing to do with Kananu’s job. Sonko will then be governor and Kananu deputy. Constitutionally, a governor once sworn in office can only be removed through impeachment, death or through resignation. It is also against this background that the deep state and Kananu were upbeat of conducting an early morning swearing-in ceremony but which was rudely blocked.
To demonstrate how powerful individuals within the judiciary are the ones directing actions in Sonko’s case, the former governor was not moved by a decision to dismiss his appeal but instead casually went on his Facebook and confidently told his supporters to keep calm and wait for November when a petition challenging his removal will be heard in the Court. The orders barring the swearing-in of Kananu were issued by Supreme Court’s Justice Mohammed Ibrahim who certified Sonko’s application as urgent.
It is imperative to note that Ibrahim has close links with lawyer Ahmednasir Abdullahi who is a staunch ally of the deputy president. Also said to be part of the wider game plan to bring back Sonko is the Deputy Chief Justice and vice president of the Supreme Court Lady Justice Philomena Mwilu. Mwilu is bitter following the deep state’s power games that locked her out of the position of the Chief Justice currently held by Martha Koome. Apparently, the deputy chief justice feels that she is being frustrated and targeted by the state following her unending misfortunes as far as her professional life is concerned.
City Hall.
In her compounding tribulations, the office of the DPP is on record stating that it is confident of winning the graft and abuse of office case against the troubled DCJ. The DPP’s office has threatened to release the dossier which would seemingly secure Mwilu’s conviction. Shockingly, the Judicial Service Commission led by Chief Justice Koome cited that it had evidence on how the DCJ allegedly transacted over Sh20 million at the Supreme Court parking lot, her office building and her Kilimani home .
In a more dramatic development, former Chief Justice Willy Mutunga is the last to join the fray by telling judges to go on strike over the government’s failure to obey court orders. Mutunga’s appointment was linked to Ahamednassir then JSC member. The remarks did not go down well with Uhuru and CJ Koome who could not fathom how Mutunga was inciting judges to down their tools, given he served as the country’s CJ who should be aware of the fact that implications of calling for a judicial strike are far-reaching.
And as was widely expected, the Law Society of Kenya president Nelson Havi joined the war by defending Mutunga. According to Havi, the CJ should not have responded to Mutunga because it is common sense that judges cannot go on strike. Havi in his usual manner attacked Koome stating that ‘she lacks emotional intelligence and she needed not to respond to retired CJ’s call for judges to go on strike.
Back to city hall and Kananu’s tribulations.
Senate Devolution Committee chairman Moses Kajwang on Wednesday reprimanded Kananu for ignoring requests to go and explain reasons for paying Sh795 million to law firms out of the county’s allocation of Sh2.5 billion meant for clearance of pending bills.
Kananu had been invited to respond to a statement by nominated Senator Millicent Omanga who alleged the county was spending a huge chunk of its budget on legal fees.
She claimed in the statement that City Hall paid a total of Sh795.9 million out of the county allocation of Sh2.5 billion meant for the clearance of all pending bills in the financial year 2018-19.
Omanga also wants to know whether there was documentary evidence availed by the law firms to support the payments made by City Hall.
She also wants a progress investigation report by the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission on investigation on the legal fees paid to lawyers for services by Nairobi county government during 2018-19.
In the past and for long, Imaginary court cases has costing Nairobians millions of shillings and this has been revealed in past audit reports.
Before Governor Evans Kidero took over in 2013, City Hall had outstanding legal claims amounting to Sh1.21 billion.
As at September 30, 2014, City Hall had sunk Sh133 million in court cases. Between June 30 and July 1, 2013, the county government spent Sh232 million on court cases.
Questioning humongous payments to lawyers, then AG Ouko said: “No evidence was provided to indicate the nature of the court cases. It is also not clear how so many legal cases arose within a year of the county assembly’s existence. It is also not clear how they were concluded.”
The Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) has launched investigations into multi-million shilling dealings between 25 law firms and the Nairobi County government.
The probe is focused on payment of legal fees by City Hall to the firms between 2013 and 2020.
The EACC, in a letter dated January 21, wants the county secretary to furnish it with the specific case files handled by the 25 law firms between 2013 and 2020, including letters of instructions and contract agreements.
“The commission is undertaking investigations at Nairobi City County in respect of payments of legal fees to the following firms. To facilitate our investigations, kindly but urgently furnish us with the original documents in respect to the mentioned firms,” states the letter.
The law firms
The firms include Irungu Kang’ata and Co. Advocates, Osundwa and Co. Advocates, Kwanga Mboya and Co. Advocates, Kithi and Co. Advocates, Wanjiku Maina and Co. Advocates, E.Onyango and Co. Advocates, J.O Magolo and Co. Advocates, Ario Advocates, Maskam ( Asanyo), E.N Omoti and Co. Advocates and Ogeto Ottachi and Co. Advocates.
The EACC further asked to be furnished with all payment vouchers, cheque counterfoil and a list of pre-qualified law firms for the period under investigation.
This is in addition to minutes approving the list of pre-qualified law firms and any other documents relevant to the probe.
MCAs’ complaints
The probe comes a few months after Nairobi MCAs raised concerns over the payment of large amounts of money to some law firms yet the county has not won any court cases recently.
The ward representatives also made allegations of favouritism by City Hall in the clearance of lawyers’ bills instead of small scale suppliers owed less money.
City Hall paid legal fees to the tune of Sh795.9 million out of the Sh2.5 billion allocated for clearance of all pending bills, locking out other suppliers and contractors.
As a result, MCAs, through a motion by Silvia Museiya (nominated), called on the county executive to come up with a policy to streamline outsourcing of legal services.
The legislators alleged that the outsourcing has turned into a business, with some lawyers colluding with officers in the executive, including those in the office of the county attorney, to siphon money from the county.
They claimed an unnamed law firm was paid Sh250 million despite not carrying out any legal transaction with the county government.
Audit report
Painting a grim picture of the state in the legal department at City Hall, the Auditor-General’s report for the 2016/2017 financial year revealed the department spent Sh592.4 million on unauthorised payments.
According to the report, the department spent Sh645.3 million on legal costs against an approved budget of Sh105 million.
Interestingly, the bulk of the money, Sh314.4 million, was paid to some 12 firms. The payment was not included in the Integrated Financial Management Information System (Ifmis).
In February 2019, the assembly’s Public Accounts Committee found that the legal department spent Sh480 million, more than four times the Sh100 million budgeted for.
The payments were made without documentary evidence, including a total of Sh318.4 million which was sent to several lawyers.
In the 2018/2019 financial year, a total of Sh795.9 million was paid to 48 law firms yet only eight raised fee notes.
During that financial year, 335 cases were handled by the legal department but only 12 of them were successful. The rest were either withdrawn or lost.
City Hall Capture By Cartels
When President Uhuru Kenyatta established the Nairobi Metropolitan Services in March last year, he tasked Major General Mohamed Badi and his team with dismantling cartels in Nairobi County and ending corruption.
The President had been alarmed by runaway corruption at City Hall, that had made service delivery impossible.
He said the cartels had a vice-like grip on the county government services, from garbage collection to parking, water supply and issuance of permits.
At the time, Governor Mike Sonko was facing a Sh357 million corruption charge, which eventually saw him barred from accessing his City Hall office.
Several corruption-related investigation cases had also been opened by different investigative agencies, ranging from multi-million garbage tender awards to the multi-billion stadiums construction saga.
However, after a short lull following the impeachment of Mr Sonko in December last year, with transition of power from Nairobi County Assembly Speaker Benson Mutura to Deputy Governor Ann Kananu, the cartels are back, this time bolder and more ferocious.
Payments to lawyers, utilisation of Covid-19 funds, AAR-City Hall staff medical scheme and Covid-19 relief programme are just but some of the brewing scandals that could yet again sink the city county back to its old ways.
Nairobi County Assembly Minority Chief Whip Peter Imwatok, who appeared to be at the forefront of the transition at City Hall, even at times directing Ms Kananu during press briefings, has in the past weeks turned into a whistleblower, lifting the lid on the happenings at City Hall.
The first was in a letter dated April 27, 2021, where the Makongeni MCA wrote to the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) and the Director of Public Prosecutions to investigate “suspicious and skewed” payments to 13 law firms by the Ms Kananu-led administration.
In the letter, Mr Imwatok alleges that more than Sh410 million was irregularly paid to the law firms with no information on the cases handled.
The second-term county legislator claimed the payments were made between February 9 and March 30, 2021.
Nairobi acting Governor Anne Kananu.
In January, the EACC had written to City Hall about investigation of 25 law firms over an alleged payment of Sh500 million-worth of legal fees to the law firms with the anti-graft agency following specific case files handled by the law firms between 2013 and 2020, including details of the cases, letters of instructions and contract agreements.
“It has come to our attention that even before the investigations with regards to this matter commenced, if ever they did, the Nairobi City County proceeded to pay the lawyers monies amounting to over Sh410 million,” read in part the letter.
But before all that could settle, another bombshell was dropped. Mr Imwatok wrote to the EACC and the DPP, asking them to investigate a payment of Sh275 million to suppliers.
He claimed that some seven companies, acting as “proxies to MCAs or members of county staff” undertook works or supplies in the Environment Department and/or supplied food as part of the Nairobi County Covid-19 feeding programme.
The ODM representative claimed that the county government had lined up the companies for payment for the services yet there is “no food that was ever supplied to the county or distributed to anyone”.
“It is absurd that taxpayer’s money amounting to Sh275 million shall be paid to companies belonging to MCAs or their proxies for either services and/or goods that were never supplied,” said Mr Imwatok in a letter dated April 26.
The Sh84 million feeding programme was to benefit 127,500 most vulnerable people in Nairobi’s informal settlements with foodstuff such as maize and wheat flour, sugar, rice, loaves of bread and powdered milk. Other items include blankets, sanitary towels and basins distributed to cushion them against the negative effects of the pandemic.
The programme was to run for three months between April and June 2021, with distribution done every week across Nairobi’s 17 sub-counties.
According to documents, the seven companies were given contracts worth between Sh3 million and Sh22 million to supply the items.
Procurement process
However, most MCAs have said their wards are yet to get any supplies, while those who were fortunate to receive the items said the package was not more than 50 bags.
“I not only have the contract but the invoice, the payment transaction, the CR12 of the companies and I have forwarded all to EACC. I am questioning the procurement process and I have evidence of procurement officers saying the processes were done without their consent,” said Mr Imwatok.
Then there is the controversial Sh1.7 billion AAR Insurance Kenya medical contract for City Hall staff, which has also been thrust in the spotlight.
Some MCAs have called for investigations into the deal, alleging that it has been turned into a cash cow by certain county officers, instead of benefiting the employees.
Waithaka MCA Antony Kiragu last month called on EACC and DCI to investigate the deal, claiming some county officials have been making money from the AAR-City Hall deal, with payments being staggered by the county government to give the individuals a platform to do business with the funds.
“The reason the payments are being done in phases is that people want to do business with AAR money. The officers want kickback from AAR,” charged Mr Kiragu.
Mr Kiragu’s assertions came hot on the heels of an announcement by Nairobi County Assembly Majority Leader Abdi Guyo that he will bring a motion to form an ad-hoc committee to look into the AAR-City Hall medical scheme.
The Matopeni MCA said the committee’s brief will be to investigate how AAR was awarded the tender, what services they are providing to staff and whether there is value for money.
But that is not all. Maj-Gen Badi and Ms Kananu were also summoned by Senate to respond to “cross-cutting issues” involving the NMS and City Hall over the expenditure of Covid-19 funds.
The summons came after a damning report by Auditor General Nancy Gathungu on the utilisation of Covid-19 funds by counties, which fingered NMS for a number of irregularities involving Sh294.38 million received from the national government in June 2020.
Some of the irregularities involved single-sourcing of a Sh64.9 million tender for design and maintenance of a makeshift isolation centre, irregular cash withdrawal of Sh32 million from a KCB account for facilitation of health workers and Sh120 million payment to frontline health workers without a budget.
The auditor could also not establish the whereabouts of some Sh182.07 million donated by the Danish International Development Agency and the county’s own contribution to boosting the war against Covid-19.
Nairobi County Assembly Majority Leader Abdi Guyo.
Mr Imwatok claim that cartels are back at City Hall in full swing, taking advantage of the vulnerability of Ms Kananu “who is seemingly out of touch with the reality of being an acting governor”.
“The county is opaque and nobody is in charge. It is everyone for him or herself,” he said.
A nasty falling out between Jubilee and Orange MCAs had been brewing following the revelations, with Mr Imwatok under siege as some ward representatives from his own party began collecting signatures to oust him as Minority Whip.
He was accused of using the party’s name in bad light at the county government to advance his selfish interests, allegations, which he denied.
“I will not be cowed from exposing corruption at the county government. Let the masters of corruption be prepared to face me to death. I am ready for the challenge as this is not the first time I am facing such threats,” he said.
The power tussle was seen Jubilee MCAs instigate the removal of Public Accounts Committee chairperson Wilfred Odalo of ODM, with 15 MCAs — three from ODM and 12 from Jubilee — appending their signatures.
But in retaliation, the Raila Odinga-led party withdrew its membership of the watchdog committee, citing intimidation and coercion of members into signing the removal of Mr Odalo as the chairperson.
The three MCAs who supported the removal of Mr Odalo — Jared Okode, Clarence Munga and Lawrence Otieno — were also withdrawn from the committees they serve in.
However, Mr Guyo hit back, saying the committee was to continue operating as long as it has a quorum.
He added that a chairperson of any committee serves at the pleasure of members and once that confidence is lost, the chair cannot force themselves on the members.
“It is not Jubilee’s business if they (ODM) decided to pull out. The chair has been accused of gross misconduct, which will taint the image of the assembly. The members have the right to choose their chair, who will still be from opposition,” said the Matopeni MCA.
Kenya Insights has documented well the city hall cartels and their nodes of operations. Guyo is the supremo and is the self proclaimed governor and speaker of the county government.
One wonders why and how this is possible given that Kananu and Badi are in position of control. As a woman we’re told she’s scared of Guyo and follows her commands, you can remember she was also fingered with Guyo in a Covid19 supply scandal. As for Badi, the two are bound by religion ties which has made them get along well giving Guyo to go about his deals with Badi looking the other way conveniently.
Despite the county drowning in debts and getting dragged in courts, Kananu under siege of cartels has been approving misuse of funds. Kenya Insights is informed that MCAs are flying out of the country on a weekly basis for unwarranted international trips costing taxpayers hundreds of millions.
In a bizarre move, we’re informed of a trip earlier this year where the budget committee traveled to Turkey to hold a board meeting there on how to plan the budget and pay pending bills. We’re adequately informed that the weekly trips of committee members mostly to Dubai cost Sh1M for each member. This is the new way of stealing and scheme of Guyo and cartels to buy loyalties of the MCAs who’re not willing to lose the privileges and will support any duty paper tabled in the assembly.
EACC should investigate this fraud scheme.
In the subsequent article, we will expound how an elaborate scheme to take over Nairobi by the cartels for the final eating after NMS term expires has been drawn. The plan that includes returning embattled Jacob Ngwele who by the way is billing city hall for his frivolous court cases and how his case in the court of appeal that is being handled by a former city hall staff now with judge Warsame is being mishandled and the judge swallowed in the scam. We expound on how the current acting clerk is related to the disgraced clerk Ngwele and generally the spirited effort behind bringing Ngwele back as championed by Guyo.
The silence from NMS is by design, we’re informed that a senior NMS official has his mouth shut given that he bought a petrol station franchise that is on a rapid expansion across the country and linked to land grabbing. We shall tell you more when the papers are right.
Kananu we’re informed is scared of getting impeached hence the soft hands on the cartels, unknown to her, she’s being fattened, handed scandals as she watches naively, and just like in Sonko’s she’ll be thrown under the bus and live in courts very soon.
”Ann Kananu is sonko but in a woman form.” Concluded a City Hall source speaking to Kenya Insights.
Haji led ODPP which is leading the prosecution in Sh357 million fraud case has thwarted Governor Sonko bail application but has no objection to the release of the other accused persons on bail.
Nairobi Governor Mike Sonko was today arraigned before Anti-Corruption Court Chief Magistrate Douglas Ogoti at the Mlimani Law Courts and charged alongside eight other Nairobi County Government officers believed to have benefited from the irregular procurement payment of over Ksh.357 million.
Sonko, who has since pleaded not guilty and his co-accused were charged with deceiving principal, money laundering, acquisition of proceeds of crime, corruption, failure to comply with procurement laws, conflict of interest, abuse of office and unlawful acquisition of public property. Here are the battery 12 lawyers that will represent the embattled governor. They all pleaded not guilty to the charges.
NAIROBI County government is headed for rough times and leadership vacuum as EACC is poised to arraign Governor Sonko in court over corruption. Sonko is expected to face charges over the award of tenders for collection and disposal of garbage within the city.
The governor is suspected to have corruptly awarded the tenders to his cronies, who later paid bribes to him. EACC is also investigating how money from the bank accounts of the garbage collection companies ended up in Sonko’s private bank accounts.
Also implicated in the scam is the Nairobi County Majority Leader Abdi Guyo who, sources have intimated, will be charged alongside Sonko. Investigators have found a direct link between Guyo and Flexilease Limited, one of the garbage collection companies implicated in the scandal.
Flexilease is being investigated for receiving payments for services not delivered and making the Nairobi County government pay for ghost workers. Guyo, a close ally of National Assembly Majority Leader Aden Duale, is also being investigated over a scam involving public toilets in the city. He is accused of working with shadowy businessman identified as Abbas Khalifa to grab all public toilets.
According to sources close to the investigations, Guyo and Abbas pocket at least Shs 1 million each every week from the public toilets. Investigators are also probing the source of Guyo’s sudden wealth. He is said to be building a huge shopping mall in Isiolo.
Management of Nairobi County affairs will be imperiled when Sonko and Guyo are finally charged with the court. With the recent court ruling, both leaders would be suspended from office. Sonko has refused to name a deputy governor since Polycarp Igathe resigned last year.
In the absence of the governor and deputy governor, the constitution stipulates that the County speaker takes over in acting capacity. There is no clear indication who is the legally recognized Nairobi county speaker. While High court reinstated Speaker Beatrice Elachi, Guyo and his MCAs have blocked her return to the county assembly
