The Nairobi City County Government is facing a serious crisis of leadership and accountability as a former County Attorney is accused of being part of a cartel that has looted billions of shillings from the public coffers.
Focus on Lydia Kwamboka
Lydia Kwamboka, who was recently removed from office as County Attorney by Governor Johnson Sakaja, is allegedly scheming to regain her position by spreading false claims of corruption and incompetence against the current administration.
According to an anonymous source within the County Government, Kwamboka has been visiting various offices and accusing them of engaging in corrupt practices.
“She now walks from office to office claims some form of corruption. You wonder if corruption only starts to exist in an organisation after you have been removed?” the source questioned.
The source also revealed that Kwamboka was unhappy that her advice was not followed by the County Government on legal matters.
“Advice is Advice. It can be taken or even not taken. You don’t say that you must control all legal payments because thats what has made the county incur a Ksh 21 billion legal pending bill in your tenure. You were the problem,” the source added.
Dubious deals
The source further alleged that Kwamboka was involved in several dubious deals that inflated the legal bills of the County Government and benefited her cronies.
“Lydia Kwamboka made the legal sector a serious cog. Imagine a situation where a government to government transaction which cost Ksh 35,000 in legal bill is charge Ksh 600 million by a lawyer. Kwamboka has been a serious problem at the legal sector. Most of the pending bills are fictitious,” the source revealed.
The source also claimed that Kwamboka refused to pay genuine legal bills when some lawyers who owned the law firms did not attend the funeral of her husband.
“She even refused to pay genuine legal bills when some lawyers who owns the law firms didn’t attend the funeral of her husband,” the source said.
The accomplice
But Kwamboka was not alone in her corruption and mismanagement.
She had an accomplice who was equally incompetent, corrupt, and insubordinate.
Her name is Josephine Kiiru, the former County Secretary and Head of County Public Service, who was also removed from office by Governor Sakaja along with Kwamboka.
Josephine Kiiru is accused of being part of the cartel that looted billions from the County Government.
She is also alleged to have failed to perform her duties and to have disobeyed the orders of the Governor and the MCAs.
The MCAs had demanded her removal and that of Kwamboka for a long time, citing their poor performance and lack of accountability.
“These two officers have been a thorn in our flesh. They have been frustrating our efforts to deliver services to our people and colluding with some rogue lawyers to inflate legal bills and siphon public funds. They have also been disrespecting us and undermining our authority. We are glad that they are finally out,” said one of the MCAs.
Need for accountability
The revelations by the source raise serious questions about the integrity and professionalism of Kwamboka, who was entrusted with the responsibility of providing legal services to the County Government.
It also exposes the extent of corruption and mismanagement that has plagued the County Government for years.
The source called for a thorough investigation into the allegations and urged Governor Sakaja to ensure that justice is served and accountability is restored.
“We are tolerating too much at Nairobi City County. We need to clean up this mess and bring these cartels to book,” the source said.
Kwamboka is served as the County Attorney of Nairobi City County from 2019 to 2023.
She was appointed by former Governor Mike Sonko and was responsible for providing legal services to the County Government.
Kwamboka was involved in several controversies and allegations of corruption, incompetence, and irregularity during her tenure.
She was sacked by Governor Johnson Sakaja after she appeared before the County Assembly’s Justice and Legal Committee and expressed her frustrations with the Finance Department over the payment of pending bills to law firms.
