A firm associated with Elgeyo Marakwet Senator Kipchumba Murkomen yesterday failed to show it bought Sh15 million land in Eldoret on behalf of Out of the Box Solutions.
Appearing before the Public Accounts Committee, Hillary Sigei, managing partner of Sing’oei, Murkomen and Sigei Advocates, said he cannot produce a land evaluation report and the purchase agreement. The documents are crucial to confirming the major transaction.
Former Media personality Angela Angwenyi’s Out of the Box Solutions company is said to have irregularly won a Sh302 million tender from the Ministry of Devolution. It paid Murkomen’s firm Sh15 million.
The law firm told the public watchdog committee the payments were for the purchase of the land. However, it has been unable to table a legal fee invoice note to prove Out of the Box Solutions formally contracted it for legal services.
Yesterday, an evasive Sigei, dwelt in legal combat ammunition in regard to advocate-client confidentiality and took the committee in a wild goose chase for more than four hours, making the
committee members angry.
In the session punctuated with heated verbal exchanges, Sigei remained adamant that the law firm is not under legal obligation to table documents that contravene regulations that govern the practice of advocates.
“As to why the client bought the property, the value of the property and the agreement between our client and the seller, these are not questions that an advocate should be asked,” he said.
Sigei told the committee they should have directed the line of questioning to Angwenyi when she appeared.
“When we received the funds we did not receive from or on behalf of the NYS, rather from a client with specific instruction to purchase a property,” he said.