Sh2 Billion Time Bomb: Firm Allegedly Linked to Amason Kingi in Kilifi Revenue Deal Continues to Drain County Coffers as Senate Opens Probe

A revenue collection contract signed during the administration of former Kilifi Governor and current Senate Speaker Amason Kingi has returned to haunt taxpayers, with the county now facing potential liabilities exceeding Sh2 billion in what senators have described as one of the most troubling county contracts ever brought before Parliament.

More than a decade after Raindrops Limited secured a lucrative 15-year deal to automate and collect revenue in Kilifi, the county is still paying the price for a contract that auditors, senators and county officials say was fundamentally flawed from the start.

The scandal burst back into the national spotlight this week when Governor Gideon Mung’aro appeared before the Senate County Public Accounts Committee and openly linked the origins of the crisis to decisions made during the early years of devolution under Kingi’s administration.

“The mistakes were made from day one, including having an escrow account and the percentages given,” Mung’aro told senators. He added that some of the officials involved in the deal now occupy senior public offices, including positions in Parliament and the Senate.

The governor’s remarks came as senators examined a growing financial nightmare that began in February 2014 when Kilifi County awarded Raindrops Limited a contract worth roughly Sh1 billion to automate and collect county revenue, particularly parking fees and cess. The agreement was amended just months later in July 2014, a move that has since attracted intense scrutiny.

According to evidence presented before the committee, the contract granted Raindrops an extraordinary 30 percent commission on revenue collected, a figure senators said was unprecedented. Neighbouring Mombasa County, by contrast, was paying only five percent to its revenue collection contractor.

The numbers painted a troubling picture.

During the 2014/15 financial year, Raindrops collected Sh545.5 million against a target of Sh1 billion. The company pocketed approximately Sh136 million, leaving the county with about Sh409 million, nearly Sh50 million less than what Kilifi had collected before the automation programme was introduced.

Senators questioned how county officials could have approved a contract that not only awarded a massive revenue share to a private company but also required taxpayers to shoulder the salaries of the firm’s employees, as well as VAT and income tax obligations.

Even more controversial was the creation of an escrow account at what was then Chase Bank, now SBM Bank. Through the account, Raindrops was able to directly access its share of county collections.

Cracks emerged almost immediately.

In February 2015, Governor Kingi terminated the contract, arguing that the arrangement was no longer tenable. Raindrops responded by suing the county in Malindi, setting off a legal battle that has dragged on for more than eleven years.

What followed transformed a controversial contract into a financial black hole.

Court orders issued during the dispute allowed Raindrops to continue drawing funds from the escrow account. Auditor-General Nancy Gathungu later flagged Sh44.35 million in unsupported expenditure paid to the company at a rate of Sh3.69 million every month. Governor Mung’aro told senators that the deductions were being made under court protection after orders issued in September 2016.

The Senate committee appeared stunned.

Committee chairperson Moses Kajwang’ questioned how payments could continue for years despite concerns over value for money and the apparent absence of evidence that the company’s reported workforce was actively engaged. He described the arrangement as looking like a scam.

The ownership of Raindrops Limited has emerged as another major point of concern.

Although Shaib Hamisi Mtuwa swore affidavits as a director when the company sued Kilifi County, senators heard that the firm’s records remain unverified on the Business Registration Service portal, making it difficult to establish its full beneficial ownership. Mung’aro told the committee that names linked to the company included veteran lawyer Taib Ali Taib and Kitui Maize Millers.

Court documents in Malindi High Court Civil Case No. 9 of 2015 also feature former Kilifi Finance and Planning Chief Officer Benjamin Kai Chilumo, who later sought the county’s Senate seat through Kingi’s Pamoja African Alliance party.

The political dimensions of the scandal are becoming harder to ignore.

Senate proceedings directly referenced Senate Speaker Amason Kingi and Kilifi North MP Owen Baya, who served as County Secretary between 2013 and 2017, as key figures whose roles during the contract’s conception and execution require closer examination.

Senators were unsparing in their assessment.

Nandi Senator Samson Cherargei described Kilifi as “a crime scene” and demanded that former officials involved in approving and managing the contract be summoned to explain how such terms were accepted. Isiolo Senator Fatuma Dullo called for a forensic audit, prosecution of culpable individuals and the disclosure of the company’s beneficial owners.

The committee has now resolved to involve the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission and pursue a comprehensive forensic investigation into both the original contract and subsequent consent agreements.

For Kilifi residents, the consequences are stark. What was marketed as a modern revenue collection solution has evolved into a decade-long legal and financial burden that has already consumed hundreds of millions of shillings and could ultimately cost taxpayers more than Sh2 billion.

The central question now confronting investigators is not whether the contract failed. The figures, court battles and Senate proceedings leave little doubt about that. The real question is who designed the deal, who benefited from it, and why Kilifi taxpayers are still paying for decisions made more than a decade ago.