Win for Nairobians as judge orders Kidero-era CFO to pay Sh317 million
Nairobi residents on Wednesday scored a major win after a judge ordered a former Chief Finance Officer at City Hall Jimmy Kiamba to return Sh282 million, whose source the court said he could not explain.
In addition, Justice Hedwig Ong’udi ordered Mr Kiamba to pay an additional Sh35 million to the government, failure to which a house in Runda Water Estate, will be forfeited to the government.
“The sum of Sh282,648,604 be paid to the government of Kenya by the 1st defendant,” the Judge said.
In the matter, the court ruled that EACC had established that six cash deposits totaling to Sh317,648,604, constitutes to unexplained assets.
The former officer in Governor Evans Kidero’s administration had explained that the money was from revenue derived from sale of cattle, wheat, transport and quarry business and sale of some properties.
UNEXPLAINED ASSETS
The judge said that it was impossible to know how much had been injected in the transport business and therefore the house, which he allegedly bought at Sh35 million fell under the category of unexplained assets.
The court was told that EACC looked at Mr Kiamba’s eleven accounts in eight banks and obtained bank statements for all the accounts and compared the amounts deposited and his salary.
It was then that they concluded that the amounts could not have been from the salary and investments he claimed to have.
The EACC suspected that Mr Kiamba stole public funds from City Hall as he deposited more than Sh400 million between January and November 2014 despite earning just Sh85,000 monthly as City Hall CFO.
A few years later, his gross salary had risen to Sh1.09 million and rental flats from the property in Athi River would get him Sh2.7 million every month.
Evidence was that he would use several persons at City Hall to make deposits in his accounts.
BANK DEPOSITS
Among the persons he used to make the deposits were Mr Joseph Njoroge, who worked at the City Hall’s Treasury. Mr Njoroge, he said, made total deposits of Sh66.8 million.
Another former officer, Mr Stephen Osiro, a former head of treasury, made total deposits of Sh4.1 million, while Nancy Withera, who worked with the Security Department and Mr Barnabas Ougo, also made deposits to Mr Kiamba’s accounts.
The officer said Mr Ougo made deposits of Sh1.48 million in April 29, 2014, another deposit of Sh770,000 in September 3, 2014 and a further Sh6 million two days later. About a month later, Mr Ougo made another deposit of Sh7.4 million.
Other persons who also made deposits to the accounts were Mr Ambrose Mwania Musau, a clerical officer, who made a deposit of Sh3.4 million and Joseph Mwaura Njoroge, Mr Kiamba’s driver, who deposited Sh1.3 million.
AMASSED WEALTH
The Commission took Mr Kiamba to court saying he amassed the wealth between January and November 2014. Evidence tabled in court show that Mr Kiamba’s two bank accounts with CFC Stanbic Bank were used to transact more than Sh400 million during the period.
Among the properties Mr Kiamba owned are two maisonettes in Nairobi South C, a plush town house in Kileleshwa, four apartments in Kilimani and eight plots in Muthaiga, Mavoko and Machakos. He also owns a fleet of six cars.
The EACC argued that Mr Kiamba acquired the property through fraudulent deals using his position as City Hall’s chief finance officer.
The court, however, said that Mr Kiamba had satisfactorily explained how he had obtained some of the properties, among them a house on Naivasha Avenue and a house in Muthaiga.