Former Nairobi Governor Evans Kidero suffered a significant legal setback yesterday when the court rejected his attempt to block the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) from presenting bank documents as evidence in an ongoing Sh58 million corruption case.
In a surprising twist, the EACC revealed to the court that Kidero had admitted in his witness statement to receiving Sh14.4 million from Cups Limited, one of the companies implicated in the scandal.
Justice Lucy Njuguna dismissed Kidero’s application to prevent EACC investigator Mulki Umar from producing bank statements that allegedly link him to funds siphoned from the Nairobi County government in January 2014.
“Where bank books have been lawfully procured and the chain of command is not broken, there is no prejudice in the production of the same by the investigating officer,” Justice Njuguna stated in her ruling. “In any event, Mr. Kidero in his statement has admitted having received the money. He has not disputed any entry in the bank statement that is in issue.”
The former governor had argued that Umar, as an investigator rather than a bank official, was not competent to present the bank statements in court.
His legal team contended that while the EACC had obtained warrants to investigate Kidero’s accounts, these only permitted inspection and copying of records, not their presentation as evidence.
The judge disagreed, ruling that the investigating officer was indeed competent to produce the documents, noting that Umar “investigated the accounts and she was furnished with the bank slips and the relevant banker’s books.”
The EACC intends to use these bank statements to demonstrate how money flowed from County Government accounts to a city-based law firm—Wachira, Mburu, Mwangi & Company Advocates—and subsequently to various beneficiaries.
The case, filed in 2021, involves 13 other defendants, including Nyakach MP Aduma Joshua Owuor, former Embakasi Central MP John Ndirangu Kariuki, former City County Government chief of staff George Wainaina Njogu, and former city councilor Paul Mutunga Mutungi, who now serves as Nairobi County deputy governor.
This ruling comes as part of a broader investigation into alleged corruption during Kidero’s tenure as Nairobi governor.
In a separate but related development, the EACC has been pursuing the seizure of Kidero’s luxury apartments, which reportedly generate Sh540,000 monthly in rental income.
The court previously blocked the investigator from presenting a certificate of electronic evidence showing how Kidero’s bank documents were processed, with Justice Njuguna clarifying that such a certificate could only be produced by its maker or the person who performed the examination.
The hearing continues as the EACC builds its case against Kidero and his co-defendants in what has become one of Kenya’s most closely watched corruption trials.
