EACC summons Governor Kingi over county expenditure

What you need to know:

  • The summons came even as Cord leader Raila Odinga defended Mr Kingi, arguing that “he had handled the scandal in his county in an open manner unlike the Jubilee administration which protected prominent personalities mentioned in mega scandals”.

  • On Thursday, EACC chief executive Halakhe Waqo declined to comment, saying doing so would amount to interfering with investigations. “I cannot comment on an issue that is under investigations,” he said.

Kilifi Governor Amason Kingi has been summoned by the anti-graft agency after it unearthed another questionable expenditure of Sh342 million by the county.

Sources at the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) revealed that Mr Kingi will be required to explain whether the Sh342,189,651 was part of the Sh1.1 billion alleged to have been stolen from the county.

The summons came even as Cord leader Raila Odinga defended Mr Kingi, arguing that “he had handled the scandal in his county in an open manner unlike the Jubilee administration which protected prominent personalities mentioned in mega scandals”.

On Thursday, EACC chief executive Halakhe Waqo declined to comment, saying doing so would amount to interfering with investigations. “I cannot comment on an issue that is under investigations,” he said.

Mr Kingi is expected to be at Integrity Centre at 9am on Friday.

Sources close to the investigations said the commission started looking into the county's expenditures after a whistle-blower drew their attention to the Sh308,189,651 set aside to buy 11 acres of land in Mtwapa to build a bus park.

The investigations into the bus park money, which started way back before the assembly lifted the lid on the loss of Sh51 million, have traced the movement of the funds to 10 firms, including law firms.

According to sources, Mr Kingi will be required to explain the relationship between the 10 firms and the 11-acre land.

The investigations, sources said, established that the county first released Sh308,189,651 to the law firm of George Kithi and Gilbert Alfred Olum Advocates.

The trail indicates the company transferred Sh308 million to Future Link Ltd.

The investigations further found that two firms were paid a total of Sh34 million for services that could not be ascertained.