The Nairobi county government leadership is facing a new whiff of scandal involving alleged planned Sh900million payout for fictitious supplies of building and road construction materials days after another Sh2billion scheduled payment in favour of 15 law firms as legal fees arrears was unearthed.
Impeccable sources within the governor Johnson Sakaja’s led administration intimated that an expenditure requisition of the said fictitious supply payment amounting to Sh750million has already been sent to the office of the Controller of Budget (CoB), Margaret Nyakang’o’s office for clearance.
However, City Hall insiders who spoke to The Informer Media Group on condition of anonymity for fear of reprisals intimated that most of the documents have been backdated and others super-imposed with a forged signature of a former Chief Officer at the Department of Roads and Public Works.
“All these are forgeries and financial irregularities. A cabal of cartel at City Hall have mooted this scheme to defraud public money. There is no such building and construction materials delivered at either the Nairobi County Central stores along Racecourse Road or Nyanyuki Road in Industrial Area.” One of our sources intimated.
City Hall has over time suffered perennial cases of massive graft during the devolved governments and during the defunct local authorities.
In 2016, pioneer Nairobi governor Evans Kidero openly decried and expressed frustrations over web of unnamed cartels that held his administration hostage.
“I am putting on notice ghost business people, suppliers of air and those who continue to manufacture invoices and deliver to city hall and get paid. I will personally ensure that they are prosecuted and immediate action taken against Nairobi County government staff who continues to encourage this bad habit of fleecing the County government. We are here to offer services to Nairobians and ensure the city is restored back to its old glory and this cannot be achieved by paying air suppliers.” Kidero said on April 24, 2016.
He spoke at a fundraising function in aid of upgrading of Maxwell SDA church’s multi level car park facility and a school.
Kidero decried that his leadership has faced challenges in tackling land cartels, garbage collectors those who dump garbage on our roads illegally and ghost business people.
In 2015, contracted private garbage collectors were paid in excess of Sh200 after staging a mass go-slow protesting delayed payments by City hall.
Less than a fortnight ago, a suit was filed to block planned payment of Sh2billion to a controversially selected 15 law firms as pending bills.
In a case filed by lawyer Clinton Mwale against the Nairobi County government as first respondent, Nairobi governor Johnson Sakaja as second respondent and Law Society of Kenya as an interested party, today, High Court judge justice L. N. Mugambi has issued directing all the defendants be served in seven days.
“I have read the application dated June 20, 2023 together with the certificate of urgency and do hereby direct that: I decline all the exparte orders sought, the application be served within seven days.” The order reads in part.
Mwale filed the suit under the certificate of urgency through Mwale and Beitta Advocates.
According to documents filed in court, Sakaja’s administration owes various law firms more than Sh21billion as pending bills as of January 2023.
While questioning the modality used to identify the law firms to be paid, the petitioner says that he has since learnt that the National Treasury is in the process of disbursing money to offset pending bills to Nairobi county and that a plot has been hatched to selectively pay a few law firms.
Mwale claims the law firms were handpicked through discrimination considering other firms numbering to 300 have equally provided legal services to the county.
“The applicant has since learnt that the National Treasury is in the process of disbursing some funds to the 1st respondent (Nairobi County government) for purposes of sorting pending bils and the applicant has further learnt that the 1st respondent has approved to pay around Kenya Shillings Two billion to less than 15 law firms.” The documents filed in court says.
According to documents filed in court, the profiled law firms cited and profiled as among thos set 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).
Additionally, Osoro Onyiego and Manyara Advocates (Sh30million), Swanya and Company Advocates (Sh2.2million), Arati and Company (2.15million), KO Advocates (Sh20million), Moronge Advocates (Sh10million) and Ojienda Co. Advocates (Sh5million).
