Embattled Nairobi governor is facing a fresh graft charge for
allegedly demanding a bribe of Sh10 million from a company that City
Hall has contracted to collect revenues.
The charge
sheet indicates that the governor demanded the bribe from Web Tribe
Limited through ROG Security Ltd as an inducement to facilitate payments
and its contract with Nairobi County.
The
governor is said to have committed the offence between January 10 and
19, 2019 within Nairobi when Web Tribe’s e-revenue collection contract
with City Hall through JamboPay was due to expire.
The
electronic payment firm was contracted in 2014 by the administration of
Governor Evans Kidero to supply, implement and maintain an automated
revenue collection and payments solution for five years. The contract
ended in April last year.
Mr Sonko was scheduled to
answer the charge yesterday following an amendment of the charge sheet
by the Director of Public Prosecutions.
But his lawyers, Cecil Miller and George Kithi, opposed the
plea-taking, saying the governor had not been sufficiently informed
about the charge.
“We are shocked by the turn of
events. We were served with the charge sheet dated January 27, 2020 this
morning. We have no chance to look at the charge sheet and explain to
our client,” said Mr Miller.
The fresh bribery charge was a substitution of another that involved conflict of interest.
He
had been accused of acquiring an indirect private interest in a
contract for supply, implementation and maintenance of electronic
revenue collection and payment solutions.
According to
the statement of offence, the contract was issued by the county
government to Web Tribe Limited. The governor was accused of receiving
Sh1 million through Equity Bank Nyali branch from Web Tribe through ROG
Security.
Milimani Anti-Corruption court chief
magistrate Douglas Ogoti directed that the governor take a fresh plea on
September 14. The governor is facing 19 counts involving Sh24.1 million
over conspiracy to commit offence of corruption, money laundering,
conflict of interest and acquisition of proceeds of crime.
In the other counts, he is charged alongside ROG Security Limited, and its director Antony Otieno Ombok, alias Jamal.
The case will be heard daily for 28 days, each session taking five hours.
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