- Former Nairobi Governor Evans Kidero and several former county officials have been acquitted in a KSh 213 million corruption case due to lack of evidence
- Magistrate Victor Wakumile ruled that the prosecution failed to prove 17 corruption charges involving payments for goods and services that were not delivered
- However, the former Head of Accounts Stephen Ogago Osiro was found guilty and will face trial
Former governor of Nairobi Evans Kidero he has been given a chance to save his life after the Milimani court forgave him in a corruption case involving millions of shillings.
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The Anti-Corruption Court pardoned him along with others who served under his administration.
Why was Evans Kidero acquitted in the KSh 213m corruption case
Former head of finance Jimmy Kiamba, former county secretary Lilian Ndegwa were acquitted due to lack of sufficient evidence.
Chief Justice Victor Wakumile ruled that the prosecution failed to prove 17 corruption charges involving payments owed to two companies for goods and services that were not delivered.
“Regarding the first to seventeenth charge, all the accused have been acquitted under Article 210 of the Criminal Procedure Law,” said Judge Wakumile Ndururu.
However, the court ruled that Stephen Ogago Osiro, the former Head of Accounts in Nairobi County, must answer to the charges, as the evidence against him was deemed insufficient.
Kidero’s troubles began in 2014 when the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) launched an investigation into suspected irregular payments made by Nairobi County between January 2014 and January 2016.
The investigation focused on transactions totaling KSh 213,327,300, allegedly paid to Ngurumani Traders Ltd and Lodwar Wholesalers Ltd for goods and services that were not delivered.
The case officially began in 2019, with Kidero and nine former county officials facing 17 corruption-related charges, including conspiracy and abuse of office.
Source: UGC
Evidence presented in court showed that Lodwar Wholesalers received KSh 109.5 million, while Ngurumani Traders was paid KSh 103.7 million.
Investigators further alleged that Kidero personally received the payments three separately, KSh 24 million, KSh 14 million, and KSh 10 million, from Lodwar Wholesalers, which he said were used to buy a Range Rover later registered in his name.
The case experienced repeated delays, mainly due to defense arguments for adjournment, but in August 2021, the court refused to suspend the hearings and ordered them to continue.
Why KRA followed Evans Kidero’s footsteps
In a separate case, the Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) sued Kidero for failing to pay KSh 680 million in taxes between 2011 and 2015.
The High Court later ordered him to pay KSh 423 million, ruling that he had not sufficiently proved that the funds were campaign contributions.
By 2023, Kidero reached an agreement with KRAagreeing to pay Ksh19.99 million as taxes, penalties, and interest, while the remaining KSh 407.7 million are waived.
Kidero was elected the first governor of Nairobi in 2013 on the ticket of the Orange Democratic Movement (ODM).
He failed in his bid for re-election in 2017 when Mike Sonkowho had previously served as a senator, when he defeated him.
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