Ex-City Hall official Kiamba faces more charges

Nairobi County Chief Finance officer Jimmy Mutuku Kiamba leaves the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission offices in Nairobi on February 13, 2015 after being questioned over suspicious financial transactions. He has been charged with fraud. PHOTO | FILE | NATION MEDIA GROUP

What you need to know:

  • The court was told that he would use juniors at City Hall to make the deposits in his accounts, among them his driver, bodyguard and head of security.
  • On Wednesday, Justice Ongudi ruled that the Sh317 million was unexplained assets and should be forfeited to the government.

Mr Jimmy Mutuku Kiamba’s recent sentencing over graft could not have come at a worse time.

Mr Kiamba is facing other fraud charges over the alleged loss of Sh213 million at Nairobi County government.

And when the ruling was read, Mr Kiamba had to shuffle between two courts — before trial magistrate Douglas Ogoti and Justice Mumbi Ngugi, who read the judgment on behalf of Justice Hedwig Ong’udi.

On Thursday, as the fraud case against him and eight others including former Nairobi Governor Evans Kidero was going on, Mr Kiamba kept to himself, perhaps pondering his next move.

The man, who served as Chief Finance Officer earning a modest pay of Sh90,833, had been accused of making a fortune worth more than half a billion.

QUESTIONABLE WEALTH

The Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission had initially claimed that Mr Kiamba and his spouse Tracy had made cumulative bank deposits of Sh1,159,820,617.

The commission wanted the court to deduct his legitimate income and forfeit the balance to the government.

Documents tabled in court showed that in 2007, Mr Kiamba declared that he had earned Sh831,840 from his salary and had assets worth Sh1 million.

This included a plot worth Sh400,000 in Athi River and a car worth Sh600,000.

But in 2012, his wealth started soaring and he would deposit between Sh50,000 and Sh2 million per day.

The court was told that he would use juniors at City Hall to make the deposits in his accounts, among them his driver, bodyguard and head of security.

BANK DEPOSITS

Evidence presented in court showed that Mr Joseph Njoroge, his driver, made total deposits of Sh66.8 million, while former head of treasury at City Hall Stephen Osiro made total deposits of Sh4.1 million.

His bodyguard, Mr Barnabas Oigo, made deposits of Sh1.48 million on April 29, 2014, another deposit of Sh770,000 on September 3, 2014 and a further Sh6 million two days later. About a month later, Mr Oigo 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. Mr Kiamba himself made deposits of Sh7.4 million.

The banks named in the court documents include Equity Bank, CFC Stanbic, Co-operative Bank and Standard Chartered.

Among the amounts EACC said were stashed in the banks suspiciously were Sh402 million at CFC Stanbic Bank, Harambee Avenue branch, and Sh162 million in another account.

ASSET RECOVERY

Other suspicious amounts were Sh300 million at Standard Chartered Bank, Machakos branch, and Sh31,921,820 at Co-operative Bank, Athi River branch.

Sh286 million was deposited at Equity Bank.

Between March 1, 2011 and March 28, 2011, a total of 12 deposits were made at CFC Stanbic in amounts of between Sh60,000 and Sh300,000.

On Wednesday, Justice Ongudi ruled that the Sh317 million was unexplained assets and should be forfeited to the government.

The amount includes Sh282 and an additional Sh35 million, failing which a house in Runda Water Estate will be forfeited to the government.