Embezzlement, procurement irregularities and fictitious legal payments rock Nairobi County Assembly
Lack of structured follow-up by the EACC and Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) waters down PAC reports
By Adieri Mulaa
The Nairobi City County Assembly faces scrutiny over procurement irregularities and embezzlement from the public coffers linked to an intricate web of fraud, The Informer Media Group has uncovered.
In line also, are unresolved audit queries that are swept under the carpet to shield the assembly administration and the leadership in the county legislature.
The financial scandals include misappropriation of millions shillings through payment of fictitious legal fees arising from fake court orders, by collusion with external lawyers.
It is a situation replicated from the county executive arm, where the Auditor General has in several reports questioned payments made to lawyers for services claimed to have been rendered.
According to well-placed sources in the county legislature, in January 2024 the assembly made a fictitious payment of about Sh1.9million to a law firm purporting to be a court decree.
The payment was processed as settlement decree served by a law firm that was crafted on a fake court order.
The county assembly is also said to have spent about Sh250million on installation of CCTV systems, television sets within the assembly precincts and some renovations.
However, it has emerged that the procurement process was marred by inflated costs and lack of transparency. Our findings point at allegations of possible collusion between some top officials in the assembly and the contractors.
On the spot over the matter is the Clerk of Nairobi City County Assembly Edward Gichana and the County Assembly Service Board (CASB), which runs affairs of the county legislature.
Sources indicate the contract was allegedly awarded to a firm said to be involved in a syndicate of multi-billion-shilling tenders in various government departments.
According to reports simmering in from those who lost their bids in the tender process, they want a probe instituted over alleged irregularities in the award of the tender.
Some complainants are reportedly pursuing redress from the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC).
However, it was not immediately clear whether a formal complaint had been lodged at the commission.
Mismanagement and misuse of public funds in the legislative arms of the county governments is rampant, as depicted in annual audit reports released by the Auditor General.
Even though, recommendations of county assembly Public Accounts Committees on acts of commission or omission, to nab the culprits, are hampered by lack of structured follow-up by the EACC and Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI).
