Governor Kidero seeks to block probe into Mumias case
Nairobi Governor Evans Kidero addressing members of the Teso community living in Nairobi, at Uhuru Park on July 26, 2017. He does not want his personal bank accounts investigated. PHOTO | EVANS HABIL | NATION MEDIA GROUP
What you need to know:
- Dr Kidero denied ever being questioned on any allegations of illegally transferring the company’s funds into his personal bank accounts.
Nairobi Governor Evans Kidero has gone to court seeking to stop investigations into his personal bank accounts for a 10-year period, part of which he served as Mumias Sugar Company managing director.
Dr Kidero has sued the Capital Markets Authority (CMA), together with its acting chief executive Paul Muthaura; the Director of Public Prosecutions; the Inspector-General of Police and the Attorney-General.
REVIVE
Through his lawyer, Prof Tom Ojienda, Dr Kidero said the CMA and its auditors wrote to him twice in 2015, requesting him to attend meetings, as they sought to understand the governance practices of the firm during his tenure as top boss between 2002 and 2012.
He said this was done with a view to resuscitating the failing company and get the best way of managing it.
AUDITORS
Dr Kidero said he agreed to attend the two meetings that involved independent forensic investigations of Mumias Sugar.
He denied ever being questioned on any allegations of illegally transferring the company’s funds into his personal bank accounts.
According to Dr Kidero, the auditors had criticised the CMA for accusing them of failing to conduct the investigations in a manner the regulator wanted.
BANK DETAILS
He claimed that the authority also failed to get back to him.
Two years later, the CMA’s investigators asked to have another meeting with him but they also did not ask him to provide them with his bank details when he met them.
ELECTIONS
On July 20, the CMA directed the Banking Fraud Investigations Unit and the National Police Service to investigate all of Dr Kidero’s bank accounts from 2006 to 2016.
He argued that the move is unlawful because he was never given prior notice and that the matter has come up only a few days before the August 8 General Election in which he is seeking re-election.
“This clearly shows that there was a desired result against Dr Kidero in so far as the investigations were concerned,” Prof Ojienda said.
