Rise and fall of Evans Kidero

For a son of a policeman, his increasing run-ins with detectives and lengthy stay in police cells, away from his lavish homes in Muthaiga and Kisumu, came as a shocking surprise.

But, over time, as they gained frequency, they have become a sign of changed times for the technocrat who just recently ran Nairobi, the biggest county in Kenya.

Dr Evans Odhiambo Kidero rose from the grit of the slums of Majengo to become one of the most admired chief executives in the Kenyan corporate scene. Until late last year, he was living the dream life of many Kenyans.

His wit was only equal to his wealth and successful career straddling the private and public sectors. As an employee, Dr Kidero earned more than Sh578 million in salaries between 1985 and 2012.

As a landlord, he has pocketed over Sh357 million in rental income for housing the big boys in town as well as governments of the United States, the United Kingdom and Sweden.

His pipeline of overseas stocks and investments continue to earn him more millions, and these are just what he has let out in public.

BANK ACCOUNT

But his star seems to be dimming as detectives keep dragging him to court to battle charges of abuse of office, money laundering and bribery, among others.

Although he has not been convicted of any financial crimes yet, the frequent arrests of the eldest son in a family of seven have seen him lose friends as fast as he earned them.

The crowd that used to mill around him is gone. Today, you are more likely to see him sitting alone at a table in a golf course restaurant than out and about.

His troubles started last year when detectives from the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) stumbled upon one of his bank accounts. When they peeped inside, they noticed he had a Sh200 million bank balance.

Between January 2011 and December 2015, Dr Kidero had made cash deposits that added up to Sh317 million.

This is the period that coincided with his exit from Mumias Sugar Company, which collapsed soon after he left, and his election as governor of Nairobi County.

HARASSMENT CLAIM

The detectives started questioning his new-found wealth, arguing that it was not commensurate with his known sources of income.

In response, Dr Kidero defended his wealth, saying he had earned every penny from his businesses and the salaries he drew while working for some of the country’s blue chip companies.

He has been arrested at least three times, with the latest one being one of the most embarrassing since he had to spend four nights in a police cell.

At the height of the investigations, detectives were paying him visits while on the golf course for questioning.

One of his most dramatic arrests happened in August last year, only for detectives to be back at his Muthaiga and Kisumu homes the following month.

As the police intensified their investigations, he protested, saying what he was going through was “pure harassment”.

NET WORTH

A few hours before he made the complaint, about 40 policemen had stormed his home at 2am to pick him up and search his premises.

He spent the night at Integrity Centre after his lawyers failed to process the Sh2 million bail slapped on him on time.

Detectives drove him to various places, among them his office in Westlands, Nairobi, as they searched for evidence against him.

They combed through his five bank accounts and stretched their scrutiny to his wife Susan Mboya’s accounts.

His foundation — Evans Kidero Foundation — has not been spared either, but he maintains that the money in the fund came through his accounts and was from supporters who helped him fund his election for Nairobi governorship.

Dr Kidero’s actual net worth has also been a subject of contention. The EACC estimates that his assets could be over Sh9 billion, but the former Mumias Sugar chief executive officer says he is worth Sh563 million, 15 times less than the EACC figure.

MUMIAS

To illustrate his wealth and means, EACC linked him to about 75 properties in Nairobi, but the trained medic said he only had links to 60 of the said properties. Dr Kidero said the other 15 were owned by other people.

His eight-year stint at Mumias has also generated a fair share of controversy, with critics and an audit report suggesting that he had a case to answer over the fall of the giant sugar miller.

Dr Kidero has however told off his critics at Mumias, saying the financial results and performance of the company bear him out.

He says he started making his money early in life and he can defend every coin he has.

“As early as the year 1994, I had learnt the art of saving and investing. I started to make several individual overseas investments in equities, which have continued to grow to date,” he says in one of his petitions.

“As early as 1995, I had already started making investments of long-term share options and executive share options with Smithkline Beecham in a bid to grow my wealth,” Dr Kidero adds.

CASH BAIL

On Tuesday, a weary Dr Kidero walked out of Kilimani Police Station cells after he was released on Sh8 million cash bail for his second corruption case.

He was charged alongside eight others for conspiring to defraud Nairobi City County of Sh68 million.

It is a matter of time before the country knows who, between detectives and Dr Kidero, will have the last laugh.