Embattled Nairobi Governor Mike Sonko on Wednesday admitted to paying millions of shillings to Amaco Insurance, a company linked to the City Hall money trail in which he is entangled.
Amaco Insurance is also associated with Deputy President William Ruto.
Speaking on Wednesday night on KTN, Sonko however dismissed claims that the huge payment smacked of corruption.
“I want to confirm to Kenyans that it is indeed true that I paid Amaco for the services he had rendered to the county. A company which is associated with the Deputy President,” Sonko said.
According to the flamboyant county boss, the Nairobi County government entered into a contract with the insurance company before he became the governor.
Sonko explained that Amaco sub-contracted panel beating to another company he said is owned by his friend.
Documents show that Amaco Insurance has had a running contract since 2013 to insure Nairobi County government vehicles.
On the other hand, the same company has an ongoing three-year contract with Arbab Auto Care Ltd, a garage located on Kangundo Road, where the county government’s vehicles are taken for repairs.
The contract was signed on June 30, 2016.
FLAWED TENDER
He rejected claims that the award of the tender was flawed, saying that Amaco was subjected to a competitive and rigorous process before the tender was awarded.
Arbab is owned by Anthony Otieno Ombok, alias Jamal, who is alleged to have paid the governor Sh3.4 million.
Mr Sonko admitted that two months after he was sworn in as governor in August 2017, the Treasury released Sh100 million to the county through the Integrated Financial Management Information System.
The money was meant to pay Amaco for services rendered and upon receiving the payment, Amaco wired more than Sh20 million in bank transfers of Sh10.7 million, Sh7.5 million and Sh5.3 million to Arbab.
According to Sonko, what Mr Ombok wired to him was a part-payment for a piece of land in Mavoko, which he sold to him in early 2017 while he was still the Senator of Nairobi.
Last month, Sonko appeared before the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) to explain how he allegedly received over Sh20 million from some companies that were doing business with the Nairobi County government in the 2017/2018 and 2018/2019 financial years.
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