City lawyer Donald Kipkorir (DBK) has come out to reveal that Nairobi County Assembly Committee members and Governor Johnson Sakaja had demanded a huge chunk of bribe to approve his pending debts.
DBK says he was approached to cut a deal to have his payments first tracked. Nairobi County owes the lawyer over Sh1.69 billion in legal fees pending since 2022.
He recently won a case and had instructed auctioneers last month to seize assets belonging to the Nairobi County government to cover his debts.
However, there has been a strategic delay in settling the debt and now it appears it was aimed at boxing him into cutting a deal.
DBK claims that last month, Nairobi County Assembly Budget Committee together with Governor Sakaja Johnson were in Naivasha preparing the County’s Supplementary Budget and that it was here that they coined a deal to extort him.
He goes further to say they had demanded for a Sh845 million bribe from the Sh1.69 B that the county owes him.
“They called me that they want to approve all my payments if I give them 50% of the sums I am owed.” He says.
He turned out the deal, he says, “I told them, my fees are in accordance with The Advocates (Remuneration) Order & decreed by Court & I won’t pay a bribe. Nairobi City under the Governor pay Bills, Invoices & Court Decrees to those that pay a bribe of 50%.”
His latest revelation doesn’t come as a surprise, earlier this month, he had hinted on the schemes before finally laying it all bare, “I have been advised that City Hall top officials have vowed they will frustrate my judgments against them through all subterfuge methods. That doesn’t bother me. What bothers me is that Public Officials have weaponized their offices.” DBK had posted on X earlier.
DBK instructed Garam Investment Auctioneers on March 27, 2024 to seize valuables, office equipment, computers, furniture and cars to satisfy the debt. This followed the High Court Judge Nixon Sifuna decision that quashed section 13A and 21 of the Government Proceedings Act, opening the door for litigants to attach government properties or bank accounts to recover their debts.
While quashing the laws, Justice Sifuna termed the sections colonial relics that have no place in modern society and were only meant to frustrate rather than facilitate the processing and expeditious disposal of cases.
However, DBK alleged a plot by City Hall to overturn the decision, “The ruling by Sifuna allowing attachment of County Government property has unnerved City Hall & upended their nefarious schemes. Because, you can now attach, there is no excuse for City Hall to blackmail for payments to be done. Now City Hall wants to fund the ruling of Justice Sifuna to be overturned in the Court of Appeal. Nairobi City County is truly rotten at all levels. It is irredeemable.” He said on April 4, 2024.
Blackmail and extortion
DBK says he has been in business with the Nairobi Government since 1998 and it was until 2012 when blackmail and extortion took precedence.
“Since devolution in 2013, payment of legal fees & bills for provision of other services like construction et al became subject to surrender of your payments to City Hall apparatchiks. I refused to pay & City Hall stopped giving me work or paying my outstanding legal fees. In the current County Government, to be paid legal fees, you must pay City Hall officials to the highest level 50% of your legitimate fees. Contractors pay upto 40%. Again, I declined to pay them.” He said.
Law firms like Kwanga Mboya and Company Advocates have found themselves being at the center of accusations of playing to the dirty tricks of City Hall. In a complaint against them on Nyakundi blog, the firm is claimed to be getting payments instantly while others are kept in waiting.
Most corrupt leadership
The lawyer has described the Nairobi County’s leadership as the most corrupt and called on President William Ruto to dissolve the county assembly and expel Sakaja from UDA party.
“Nairobi City under Sakaja Johnson will go down as the MOST CORRUPT LEADERSHIP in Kenya’s History with a County Assembly that is completely beholden to him. It is time President William Ruto dissolves both the County Assembly & expels Sakaja from UDA and EACC should arrest Nairobi County leadership of both the Executive & the County Assembly.” Said the lawyer.
Governor Johnson Sakaja during a meeting with City MCAs where he declared his candidature for the Nairobi UDA chairmanship on April 19, 2024.
Image: JOHNSON SAKAJA
History of Sh1.69 billion debt owed to Kipkorir
DBK was awarded one of the highest legal fees in the country’s litigation history for defending the county government against the Ministry of Defence over a parcel of land where Embakasi Barracks sits. The Environment and Land court in 2022 ruled that Mr Kipkorir should be paid Sh1.338 billion for representing the defunct city council in a case that was in court for close to 10 years over the 3,000-acre land valued at Sh61.5 billion. The amount has since increased to Sh1.69 on account of interest.
DBK acted for the defunct city council when its land was forcibly taken by the Kenya Defence Forces, triggering the court case in 2012 but the matter was later withdrawn to allow for the case to be settled through inter-governmental relations.
Most incompetent
Elsewhere, a section of Nairobi County leaders have slammed Nairobi Governor Johnson Sakaja accusing his administration of being the “most incompetent and morally degenerate” county government.
In a strongly-worded statement, the leaders led by Dagoretti South MP John Kiarie accused Sakaja’s administration of contributing to Nairobi County’s deteriorating state.
They pointed out issues such as widespread sewerage problems, garbage mountains in residential areas, water shortages amidst flooding, and poorly planned high-rise constructions.
“It is our observation that Nairobi could be facing its worst leadership crisis at City Hall in the capital’s history. The dream that was sold during the campaigns of a city of order, dignity, hope and opportunity has turned into a nightmare. Nairobi is becoming clamped in an ever-tightening chokehold of an arrogant and dangerously corrupt leadership,” said Kiarie.
Citing a recent Auditor General report, Kiarie further accused Sakaja’s administration of gross financial mismanagement, including payments to ghost workers and selective payment of bills for kickbacks.
“In a shocking revelation last year, a junior officer wielding authority directly granted by the Governor, clandestinely approved over 600 building plans against the Physical Land Planning Act which stipulates that the County Chief Officer is responsible for approving building plans,” he said.
“That would explain the ‘kiudutho’ development and the unplanned highrise buildings that are mushrooming and cropping up in every corner of Nairobi. Such cases of abuse of power only give a preview of the rot house that is the Nairobi City County.”
Kiarie further condemned the acquisition of luxury assets by top Nairobi County officials, describing it as a disregard for public welfare.
“Never before has Nairobi ever been pilfered so brazenly and with so much display of juvenile bravado, intimidation, exclusion and undermining of those who they are not able to pay with their looted billions,” he said.
“Pitting leaders against each other and sponsoring squabbles has become the expensive hobby of the Governor and his court of loyalists.”
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