The Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (Eacc) detectives have trained their guns on Nairobi City County Acting Procurement director John Okuku over alleged mega extortion schemes from contractors and suppliers before issuing award letters.
The beleaguered director is not new to controversy and he has previously been arrested by the cases are internally diluted.
However, the latest case involves sh9million kickback in award of Road construction in Kasarani Nairobi which was inflated to a tune of Sh35million.
In a blow by blow account, Okuku is said to have demanded Sh9million to issued award letter.
The bribery cash is said to have been withdrawn from a local bank in Hurlingham area in Nairobi.
The man under siege was to pick it in Westlands, Nairobi but declined fearing Eacc officers were on trail.
The following day, he is said to have picked the money in Muthaiga Nairobi using his sleek Mercedes Benz.
Okuku’s substantive position is deputy director , Supply Chain Management. He is the now Acting director after his predecessor Solomon Obiero exited.
City Hall has been dogged by intricate web of corruption involving senior officials who have made service delivery difficult.
Last year, a senior rates officer at City Hall was arrested by EACC detectives for allegedly receiving Sh500,000 treated money from a businessman.
Dennis Manoti was arrested at Ankara hotel in the city centre while taking the money from Taj Mall owner Ramesh Gorasia.
In 2015, Cooperative Bank flagged Sh7million fraud as payment by a fake garbage collector at City Hall through Peposi Freight Kenya Limited.
The probe report that the account number of Peposi, 01148230311300, was opened by two individuals who indicated their names as Mohammed Adan Ibrahim (ID number 1107823) and Mohammed Bashir Ibrahim (ID number 2302058) both of Post office Box number 21140-00100 Nairobi allegedly using forged Certificate of registration disguised as from registrar of companies four days before the payment was done.
Detectives have established that the firm was registered on December 16, 2014 using a fake certificate CPR2014/169610 and an account opened on December 20, on a Saturday when the payment was done.
Ordinarily, Saturday is not an official working day but it remains unclear how the payment was transacted.
The same day the account was opened, Sh5,000 was deposited into the account by a customer only identified as Mohammed. Later in the day, a cheque deposit (cheque
number 134) of Sh 7,612, 540 was made but the Cooperative Bank, City Hall branch.
And on December 30, 2014, after the bank raised questions, the cheque was recalled.
This comes even as sacked Nairobi County Finace Chief Jimmy Kiamba’s accounts were frozen by the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission over alleged economic crimes for unexplained wealth running into hundreds of millions.
