Kidero, lawyer sue audit firm over Mumias graft claims

Nairobi Governor Evans Kidero speaks at an event on March 9, 2015. On April 1, 2015, he filed a defamation case against audit firm KPMG over Mumias Sugar dossier. FILE PHOTO | SALATON NJAU |  NATION MEDIA GROUP.

In Summary

• Dr Kidero claimed that the report, which was used to justify the inclusion of his name in the list of corrupt leaders under investigation by the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC), was false, inaccurate, misleading and meant to tarnish his reputation.
• He swore that since the company procured his services in 2011, he had executed all transactions with due diligence and wondered why the commission had singled out his law firm for investigations when Mumias Sugar has contracted 12 other law firms.
• In his suit, Dr Kidero says the KPMG report was based on falsehoods meant to discredit his character and portray him as a corrupt individual not worthy of holding public office.

By NATION REPORTER
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Nairobi Governor Evans Kidero has sued audit firm KPMG for linking him to irregularities at the troubled Mumias Sugar Company that led to losses of over Sh300 million.

Dr Kidero claimed that the report, which was used to justify the inclusion of his name in the list of corrupt leaders under investigation by the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC), was false, inaccurate, misleading and meant to tarnish his reputation.

“Despite admitting that they did not interview me to make clarifications, they proceeded to make unqualified allegations about what they perceived as indictment against me in managing Mumias Sugar Limited,” said Dr Kidero, in the suit filed by his lawyer, Prof Tom Ojienda.

At the same time, Prof Ojienda filed a separate suit against the EACC for alleging that he received Sh300 million in legal fees from Mumias for services not rendered.

ACCOUNTS

Prof Ojienda seeks to stop the commission from investigating his accounts. He alleges that the warrants allowing the investigators to access his accounts were obtained irregularly through collusion with the Kibera chief magistrate.

“As a matter of fact, it is Mumias Sugar which owes me Sh100 million for legal services I have rendered since 2011. The company has never complained to anybody, which shows that by purporting to investigate my bank details, the EACC is acting maliciously and abusing public power entrusted to them,” said Prof Ojienda.

He swore that since the company procured his services in 2011, he had executed all transactions with due diligence and wondered why the commission had singled out his law firm for investigations when Mumias Sugar has contracted 12 other law firms.

In his suit, Dr Kidero says the KPMG report was based on falsehoods meant to discredit his character and portray him as a corrupt individual not worthy of holding public office.

“When I joined MSC in 2003, I found a rundown company on the verge of collapse with losses totalling over Sh244 million for the 2002/2003 financial year. But with the support and dedication of my team, the company became a success story year in year out,” Dr Kidero says.