Controversy Rock City Hall Over Sh500M Illegal Payments To Suspicious Contractors

Just a few days after taking over as Nairobi acting Governor, Ann Kananu has found herself in hot soup over illegal payment of Sh494 million to contractors under functions which have already been transffered to the Nairobi Metropolitan Services.

Among those who are receiving the illegal payments is Senate Speaker Ken Lusaka whose company Wakiwa Company Ltd is being paid Sh20 million under the Environment department despite the function being among the transffered functions under NMS.

Kananu in cahoots with the corrupt Matopeni MCA Abdi Guyo have allegedly colluded to illegally pay the millions to contractors who are majority from the Somali community.

According to sources, Nairobi County resources are being misused to pay contractors under the transferred functions at the expense of genuine contractors under the retained functions at City Hall.

Here are samples of the illegal workplan at City Hall. The millions of payments will largely go to Waria contractors who have cut deals with Guyo and Kananu for kickbacks amounting to millions of shillings.

Meanwhile the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) is investigating possible collusion between several leading law firms and Nairobi MCAs to swindle the county government of close to Sh500 million in legal fees for services not rendered.

On the radar of the EACC are at least eight prominent MCAs who allegedly fronted the 25 law firms.

According to the payment schedule the millions were to be wired to the law firms last Friday only for EACC to write to the County Secretary notifying him it had opened investigations into the matter.

“The commission (EACC) is undertaking investigations at Nairobi City County in respect of payments of legal fees to the following firms. To facilitate our investigation, kindly but urgently furnish us with the following original documents in respect to the above firms,” the letter dated January 21 reads.

The documents include all payment vouchers and cheque counterfoil, list of prequalified law firms for the years 2013-2020 and minutes approving the list of pre-qualified law firms.

EACC also demanded to be furnished with original copies of the specific case files handled by the law firms including details of the cases, letters of instructions and contract agreement for the period under investigations.

Some of the law firms being investigated include Irungu Kang’ata & Co. Advocates, which is associated with Senate Majority whip and Murang’a Senator Irungu Kang’ata, Ogeto Ottachi & Co. Advocates associated with Solicitor General Ken Ogeto and National Lands Commission (NLC) chairman Gershom Otachi.

Also under investigations is Ojienda & Co. Advocates owned by prominent lawyer Prof Tom Ojienda and Maanzo & Co. Advocates associated with Mbooni MP Daniel Maanzo.

Others include Kwanga Mboya & Co. Advocates, Wanjiku Maina & Co. Advocates, Koceyo Co. Advocates, Mbaluka Co. Advocates, Njenga Maina Co. Advocates, Kandie Murtai Co. Advocates, Sirma Co. Advocates and Ongicho Ongicho Co. Advocates.

The payment schedule shows Kwanga Mboya & Co. Advocates, which was allegedly being fronted by a prominent Opposition MCA in Nairobi, was to receive Sh45 million while Wanjiku Maina & Co. Advocates, allegedly fronted by Mihang’o MCA Paul Kiguathi, aka Kados, was to receive Sh25 million.

Ogeto Ottachi & Co. Advocates was to pocket Sh20 million while Tom Ojienda & Co. Advocates was to receive Sh30 million.