Nairobi county Minority Chief Whip Peter Imwatok has called upon investigative agencies to probe ‘suspicious’ payments to lawyers.
In a letter date April 27, Imwatok wrote to both the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission and the Director of Public Prosecution requesting a proper investigation into “fictitious payments” made to 17 law firms by Nairobi County.
Imwatok in his letter alleged that monies amounting to over Sh410 Million were irregularly paid to the law firms with no information of the cases handled.null
“Did the Nairobi City County Government provide to yourselves the Specific files handled by the Law Firms above including details of the cases, letters of instructions and contract agreements between the year 2013 and 2020 as requested by yourselves?,” he wrote.
The listed firms include Macharia and Co. Advocates, Kithi and Co. Advocates, Letangule and co. Advocates , Koceyo and Co.Advocates , Kwanga Mboya and Co. Advocates, D.Njogu and Co. Advocates, Koceyo and Co. Advocates , Osero and Co. Advocates, Ario and Co. Advocates, Prof. Tom Ojienda and Associates , E.A.Oyaro and Co. Advocates Oyaro .
The payments are said to have taken place between February 9, 2021 and March 30, 2021.
Imwatok noted that it was suspicious that the alleged payments were made immediately after the removal from office by way of impeachment of Governor Mike Sonko.
“It is not lost on us that some of the Advocates mentioned in the list herein above were the defenders of Mike Sonko both at the County Assembly and the Senate,”Imwatok said.
The MCA has threatened to take legal action should the EACC and DPP for failing to act on his letter.
The Ethic Anti-Corruption Commission in January reveled it was investigating the payment of legal fees to 26 law firms worth Sh500 million.
In a letter dated January 21, 2021 , EACC asked the County Secretary to furnish it with the specific case files handled by the 26 law firms between 2013 and 2020, including details of the cases, letters of instructions and contract agreements. null
The county assembly has over time lamented and raised concerns over money paid to legal firms. In the 2016-17 financial year report, former Auditor General Edward Ouko was concerned by the money that the legal department spent, citing Sh592.4 million unauthorized payments.
According to Ouko, the department paid 12 law firms Sh314.4 million.
The money was spent outside the Integrated Financial Management Information System.
In February 2019, the County Assembly Public Accounts Committee found that the legal department spent Sh480 million, more than four times the Sh100 million budgeted for.
The payments were made without documentary evidence.
In particular, a total of Sh318.4 million was paid to different lawyers without supporting documents.
MCAs have in the past flagged the legal department for colluding with law firms to siphon money from City Hall, noting in particular financial year 2018-19 when no case was handled by county lawyers.
Instead, 48 law firms were paid Sh795.9 million. Only eight of the firms presented fee notes.
Documents before the County Assembly Legal and Justice committee showed that 335 cases were handled by the legal department, with only 12 of them successful in the same period. The rest were either withdrawn or lost.
The committee questioned why Sh795.9 million was paid only to law firms yet the county’s allocation for the clearance of the pending bills in 2018-2019 was Sh2.5 billion.
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