Tuesday, June 18, 2013

Kimemia, Kimaiyo named in NCPB probe

Tuesday, June 18, 2013 - 00:00 -- BY DAVID MWERE
Secretary to the Cabinet Francis Kimemia, Inspector General of Police David Kimaiyo and prominent city lawyer Ahmednassir Abdulahi have been adversely mentioned in the saga behind the illegal payments to the Erad Contractors and Suppliers by the National Cereals and Produce Board (NCPB).
The list also includes former Deputy Chief Justice Nancy Baraza and Treasury PS Joseph Kinyua.
The material is contained in a letter authored by businessman Brian Yongo that was read to the Public Investment Committee (PIC) by the Agriculture PS Romano Kiome. The letter also includes one Evans Gaturu who was allegedly paid over Sh3 million by the NCPB to arbitrate over the matter.
Erad, a private company, had successfully sued NCPB for what it claimed breach of agreement and was granted over Sh500 million in damages by the high court in Nairobi. NCPB has since paid Sh297 million with a balance of 264 is pending.
The Public Investments Committee is investigating illegal payments by NCPB to Erad for maize that was never delivered. The tender was given in 2004 and the matter has been in court since.
On Monday last week, Erad sought another court order in Nairobi, this time seeking the seizure and auction of the country’s strategic grain reserve facilities worth billions of shillings. Jacob Juma, a director with Erad is claimed to have association with top people in the Judiciary, Executive and the police service.
The letter was copied to former PM Raila Odinga, EACC, the PS Treasury and the PS Agriculture requesting for investigations to be done.
Ahmednassir, who sits in the Judicial Service Commission (JSC), is claimed in the letter to have a lot of influence in the Judiciary and therefore compromises the course of justice. The Treasury PS is claimed to have facilitated the payment to Erad by releasing the monies.
It was while Baraza was acting for Erad that she was appointed the DCJ.
NCPB lawyer Joshua Nyawara said that it was wrong for Ahmednassir to continue sitting in the JSC as his presence was intimidating to the Judges.
In a sworn affidavit, Nyawara claimed that Baraza urged him not to appeal when the company was awarded the payment. He alleges that Baraza sent him abusive text messages when he appealed against the decision by the high court to award the millions.
“Nancy told me that there is no need to prosecute the appeal…she urged me to advice my client to pay the damage and told me that “you make money once.” She also maliciously claimed that I had received Sh1 million bribe from Dubai Bank to prosecute the matter but she apologized to me later when I took up the matter to the advocates complaints commission,” Nyawara told the committee.
“I reported the matter to the CID but former AG Amos Wako told me that it was a simple thing that we should solve,” he said.
He was however put to task by the committee chairman Aden Keynan for failing to prosecute the suitability of Baraza when she was being interviewed for the DCJ job.
“You must be an accomplice in the game. Why didn’t you object when Baraza was being promoted? You also failed to complain against the fitness of suspended Justice John Njagi at the time of his vetting because you say that he sat on the case for two years…..surely you do not have the interests of NCPB at heart," Keynan said.
Lameck Achika from the Kenya National Audit office told the committee that Erad had no capacity when it was contracted to supply maize worth Sh739 million in 2004. Achika said that Erad had a net worth of Sh6 million with a bank overdraft of Sh3 million at the time of tendering.
“The company’s net current assets was Sh5 million and was to pay creditors over Sh7million. It was insolvent and it should not have qualified for the financial evaluation. The whole process was flawed from the beginning,” said Achika.
- See more at: http://the-star.co.ke/news/article-124671/kimemia-kimaiyo-named-ncpb-probe#sthash.25yoTrD3.dpuf

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