Former Nairobi Governor Evans Kidero./FILEFormer Nairobi Governor Evans Kidero has been acquitted in the Sh213 million corruption case This is after a Nairobi Anti-Corruption court found that the prosecution failed to prove the allegations against him.
Senior Principal Magistrate Victor Wakumile on Thursday ruled that the evidence presented did not demonstrate beyond a reasonable doubt that Kidero authorised or benefitted from payments made to two companies for goods and services that were allegedly never delivered.
The court acquitted Kidero on 17 counts under Section 210 of the Criminal Procedure Code.
"Count 1-17, all are acquitted under section 210," he ruled.
The section allows a court to dismiss charges where the prosecution’s case is deemed insufficient. Kidero, who served as Nairobi’s first county boss between 2013 and 2017, had been charged alongside 10 former county officials and business associates.
The prosecution had alleged that the accused conspired to illegally authorise payments totaling Sh213,327,300 to Lodwar Wholesalers Ltd and Ngurumani Traders Ltd for services that were never rendered.
The charges included conspiracy to commit an offence of corruption, abuse of office, fraudulent acquisition of public property, dealing with suspect property, and failure to pay tax to a public body. However, Magistrate Wakumile noted that the key evidence relied on did not directly link Kidero to the alleged fraudulent approvals.
Despite Kidero’s full acquittal, the court placed the former Nairobi County Head of Accounting, Stephen Ogago Osiro, on his defence after finding that prosecution evidence raised questions requiring his response.
The ruling means Osiro will now have to answer to counts 18 to 35, which relate to the same contested transactions.
Other high-ranking former county officials charged in the case include the former County Secretary, former Chief Finance Officer, former Finance and Planning Executive, former acting Chief Finance Officer, and former acting Head of treasury.
Two Business associates linked to the two supplier companies were also charged.
The 2018 case court ruling is a reprieve to the embattled ex-governor.
