It has been revealed that former Nairobi Governor Mike Sonko spent Sh4.09 million from county government funds to employ 33 police officers during a three-week trip to Mombasa in 2018.
The flamboyant former governor hired police personnel to guard him throughout his stay in Mombasa between July 22, 2018 and August 12, 2018, according to the Auditor General’s report for the 2018-2019 financial year.
An inspection of payment papers indicated that Sh4.09 million was given as allowances to the 33 police officers who guarded the governor throughout his 22-day stay, according to the Auditor General Nancy Gathungu’s report.
“The Management did not avail documents such as nature of disputes, approval for procurement of professional services records, the record of services rendered and contracts for audit review,” the audit says.
Gathungu pointed out that the governor also did not reveal the objective of the trip or who authorized the officers’ hiring.
The Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) is currently examining allegations that the Nairobi County government paid tens of thousands of dollars in legal fees to dozens of law firms that allegedly provided services to the county government during Sonko’s tenure.
Since then, the EACC has asked to City Hall to explain payouts to 26 law firms totaling more than Sh500 million between 2013 and 2020.
The payments are dubious, according to the commission, and were issued without due process.
Suspicious cases costing millions
The commission wants to know about the specific case files handled by law firms, as well as the legal directions in full.
The Auditor General also questioned the whereabouts of Sh66.97 million in own-generated money obtained from the approval of development plans.
Sonko’s government was also accused by the Auditor General of making irregular withdrawals of Sh500 million and overpaying contractors.
The money was taken out for unidentified payments that were not backed up by appropriate authority, documentation, or pre-numbered payment vouchers, according to the study.
The county administration withdrew Sh249.79 million from Co-Operative Bank within the same fiscal year, but no supporting paperwork were produced.
The county executive current account at KCB bank was also overdrawn by Sh3.7 million for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2018, according to the report.
“The same account was overdrawn by Sh542,465 as at June 30, 2019. No documentary evidence has been available for audit review to confirm prior approval of the overdraft by the County Treasury or Board of the County Government as required under section 119 (4) of the Public Finance Management Act, 2012.” the report further reads.
According to the report, City Hall operated 41 bank accounts, but during the audit, it did not disclose two accounts containing Sh7.98 million.
Further, examination of records indicates that the county executive had operated bank accounts currently referred as either closed or dormant at various commercial banks.
Surprisingly, Sonko’s staff was paid more than the Salaries and Remuneration Commission’s permitted rate to complete the verification of the pending bills.
The staf was paid Sh16.48 million out of a total of Sh5.64 million that was authorized.
According to the auditor, the county has yet to settle a pending statutory deduction of Sh39.87 million that has accumulated for a long time and is in violation of the law.
It reveals that Sonko’s administration used “hidden” bank accounts, had Sh70.65 billion in unpaid debts, and Sh39 million in unremitted statutory deductions.
