Americans caught up in county, agency debt dispute

Nairobi County officials erect a signboard while a truck (right) blocks the entrance to the Kenya Medical Research Institute on May 19, 2016. PHOTO | LILIAN MUTAVI | NATION MEDIA GROUP

What you need to know:

  • County officials were demanding Sh120 million generated over 10 months from certificates issued by Kemri to food sellers — hotels, vendors and restaurants — operating in the city and Sh2.6 million in land rates arrears for the last four years.
  • Efforts to get Kemri to pay the debt, said Dr Ntoiti, were unsuccessful as the agency failed to do so even after city officials had held several meetings, forcing them to lock down the agency’s offices.

Over 25 Americans were on Thursday caught up in the fallout from a contract dispute between the Nairobi County government and the Kenya Medical Research Institute (Kemri).

The foreigners could neither leave nor enter the research agency’s head office after City Hall blocked its entrance with trucks for over two hours demanding to be paid Sh122.6 million the agency reportedly owes the county.

County officials were demanding Sh120 million generated over 10 months from certificates issued by Kemri to food sellers — hotels, vendors and restaurants — operating in the city and Sh2.6 million in land rates arrears for the last four years.

County debt collection task force head of operations John Ntoiti said the city had entered into an agreement in which Kemri was to issue the certificates and remit Sh12 million to City Hall per month.

Dr Ntoiti, however, said Kemri had not honoured the agreement, explaining that the agency had paid up only for the first month.

He said the Sh120 million had accumulated over the 10 months that Kemri failed to remit the payments.

Efforts to get Kemri to pay the debt, said Dr Ntoiti, were unsuccessful as the agency failed to do so even after city officials had held several meetings with the agency, forcing the city to lock down the agency’s offices.

However, Kemri claimed the county was exaggerating the amount owed, saying the actual debt is less than Sh70 million.

And as the face-off between county and Kemri officials raged on, diplomats and other workers were stranded inside and outside the facility, unable to enter or leave.

An American doctor complained that the county had restricted the movement of people with diplomatic status.

Speaking by phone with an official at the US embassy, the doctor was overheard complaining that both diplomats and officials from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention could not leave the facility because county officials had blocked the gate.

It took the intervention of the head of Kemri’s board, Dr Lillian Apadet, to get the traffic flowing again after the agency paid Sh28 million to the city following negotiations.

While the talks were going on over the money from certificates, other county officials blocked the building, this time demanding the land rates arrears.

After some time, Dr Ntoiti said Kemri had paid “some amount” and asked for more time to put their records straight.

Dr Ntoiti warned those who owe the county money to pay or expect to face its wrath.

“If you don’t pay the money you owe us, the county has the capacity to come to your doorstep and the embarrassment that we will bring you will give us our money,” he said.

A letter seen by the Nation dated February 10, 2016 and signed by county Secretary Robert Ayisi terminated the certificates contract with Kemri.