EACC detectives yesterday evening arrested former Nairobi Governor Evans Kidero over corruption allegations.
The DPP’s office said Kidero was arrested following investigations by the anti-graft agency. Noordin Haji was satisfied by the investigations file prompting the arrests. Haji received the file and documentary exhibits against former City Hall officers on July 13.
“The DPP has independently reviewed the file and material submitted to him and is satisfied that the persons named are criminally culpable,” ODPP said on Twitter. The agency said the probe found Kidero and five other officers, who served in his administration, liable for mismanagement and embezzlement of public funds.
They are former officers Lilian Ndegwa (county secretary), Jimmy Kiamba (Finance chief officer), Stephen Osiro (head of county Treasury), Luke Gatimu (acting Finance chief officer) and Gregory Mwakanongo (Finance executive).
Also found capable for the embezzlement of public funds are John Njogu and Grace Githua from Lodwar Wholesalers and Ngurumani Traders Ltd. The two companies have been found liable.
They are likely to be charged with corruption and related economic crimes today. This is not the first time Kidero is linked to mismanagement of funds at City Hall. In March, a report by audit firm KPMG said the former governor’s administration could not account for Sh21 billion. The audit commissioned by Governor Mike Sonko also found Kidero’s administration deleted 7,346 manual revenue collection receipt booklets from the City Hall’s digital system.
This implied that it was impossible to know whether City Hall collected money from the transactions. It also made it difficult to accurately calculate how much Nairobi is owed by debtors. Kidero denied the claims, saying they are baseless.
Former county secretary Ndegwa was in April 2015 charged with defrauding the county of Sh17 million. Ex-Finance chief officer Kiamba has been facing several economic crime cases that saw his bank accounts frozen for Sh480 million unpaid. KRA said Kiamba had 10 bank accounts and owned two maisonettes in South C.