Former Nairobi governor Evans Kidero’s Sh8b wealth on EACC radar
Four current and former governors are being investigated by anti-corruption agencies over unexplained wealth amounting to a whopping Sh11 billion.
The four include former Nairobi governor Evans Kidero (Sh8 billion), his successor Mike Sonko (Sh1 billion), former Kiambu Governor Ferdinand Waititu (Sh2 billion) and Samburu County boss Moses Lenolkulal (Sh500 million).
Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) says Kidero, who is facing several corruption charges in various courts, is on the radar of the graft agency over accumulation of wealth valued at Sh8 billion invested in property, shares and cash in bank accounts.
The amount Kidero, who is angling to be Homa Bay governor, cannot account for is equivalent to the budget for the Covid-19 Emergency Response Project which the Treasury has allocated Sh8.7 billion.
It is also similar to President Uhuru Kenyatta’s affordable housing project that has a vote of Sh8 billion.
Shockingly the amount is ten times more than the money that will be used to build housing units for the National Police and Prison officers who have a budget of Sh700 million.
Nairobi County, during his tenure, was collecting between Sh8-10 billion annually from taxes and other revenues. Interestingly, that amount can pay for all the public parking space in Nairobi for four years.
Sonko and Waititu are being investigated on how they acquired Sh1 billion and Sh2 billion, respectively.
Lenokulal, who is grappling with a Sh1.6 billion corruption scandal, is required to explain how he acquired Sh500 million wealth held in property and money held in a local bank.
The commission is said to be closing in on Lenokulal as he has been unable to explain how he acquired four prime properties situated in the upmarket Karen area in Nairobi, which the court has restrained him from transferring, disposing or dealing with.
Kemsa scam
The revelations are contained in a report tabled before the Senate Justice and Legal Affairs Committee by EACC chairman Eliud Wabukala.
EACC also cited corruption offences and pending court cases involving nine former and current governors of Nairobi, Kiambu, Garissa, Samburu, Busia, Migori and Nyandarua. The cases are worth Sh1.2 billion.
Other cases pending review by the Director of Public Prosecution (DPP) include irregular award of a tender for construction works for Malaba Water and Sanitation Project worth Sh680 million and the procurement irregularities worth Sh7 billion at Kenya Medical Supplies Authority (Kemsa).
In the report, EACC also said it had averted the loss of Sh30.4 billion and is seeking forfeiture of Sh25 billion by public officers found to own unexplained wealth.
Wabukala also revealed that the commission had seized assets worth Sh25 billion stolen from the public over the last five years.
He stated that EACC had presented the loss of more than Sh30 billion during the same period.
The EACC boss added that the commission had investigated 1,000 corruption cases, with 269 of them being prosecuted in courts.
In collaboration with the DPP, the EACC secured convictions in 169 cases out of 275 corruption matters finalised in various courts.
Risk assessment
Examples of high-impact cases involved nine former and current governors, principal secretaries, senators, MPs, and managing directors of State corporations, among others.
EACC Deputy Director Jackson Mue said the commission had recovered Sh25 billion for the year 2019/20 and has since surrendered the money for public benefit.
This is more than 100 times what was recovered for the financial year 2018/19 which amounted to Sh2.7 billion.
“In the last five years, EACC has conducted 1,000 investigations on corruption and related offences with 275 corrupt cases finalised in court out of which 169 resulted in a conviction during the same period,” Mue said as the commission tabled their report for the financial year 2019/20 on the status of the fight against corruption.
They are now on continuous system reviews and corruption risk assessment targeting ministries, departments and agencies and county governments.
