Governor Abdi discounts MCAs graft claims, terms it witch hunt

Embattled Wajir Governor Mohammed Abdi on Thursday put up a spirited fight to save his job.

This was the second and final day of his impeachment hearings by a Senate committee.

The committee chaired by Nyamira Senator Okongo Omogeni retreats on Friday to file a report to determine the governor’ fate after the marathon hearings.

Taking to the stand a day after the MCAs laid bare their case claiming his family was looting the county through irregular award of tenders and kickbacks, Abdi denied the allegations.

On Wednesday, the ward reps placed the governor’s wife Kheira Omar Maalim, son Yussuf Mohamed Abdi and daughter Farhiya Mohamed Abdi, and businessman Osman Abdi Jimale at the centre of a graft web haunting the governor.

The ward reps sought to expose how county contractors have been wiring money to Kherira’s bank accounts as kickbacks to influence award of tenders and payments.

They also claimed before the committee that the county's first lady is the de facto leader and literally runs the show in the county government.

The assembly further sought to expose how the governor’s children have received millions of shillings through alleged proxy companies contracted by the county government.

But on Thursday, the county chief discounted the allegations as political witch hunt laced with malice, falsehood and only geared at tarnishing his name and maligning his character.

Through his lawyers Paul Nyamodi and Ndegwa Njiru, Governor Abdi scathingly tore into evidence adduced by his accusers, questioning their source, authenticity and reliability, before the 11-member Senate panel.

He questioned the character of some of the witnesses who testified against him, saying some have been accused of graft in their past jobs and used their ‘craftiness’ to obtain the documents.

While cross-examining Diff MCA Ahmed Bare—the second witness for the county assembly whose affidavit alleged massive plunder of county resources by the governor’s family—lawyer Ndegwa questioned the source of bank statements that shows Kheira received millions of shillings in kickbacks.

“Can you confirm the source of these documents? Can you confirm that these bank accounts are linked to the first lady? How did you obtain these documents from KCB?” the lawyer posed.

Bare, a former DCI, swore he could not disclose the person who gave him the documents but insisted that they were authentic and that they belonged to the governor’s wife.

“That person is my source. I said I cannot disclose,” the MCA said, triggering yet another question from the lawyer.

“Is it your craftiness that helped you obtain these documents?” Njiru posed. The MCA denied.

Njiru went ahead to reveal how the witness was implicated in graft in his previous job as DCI officer attached to Kenya Ports Authority.

The lawyer said the MCAs, had not adduced evidence to prove claims that county contractors have been forced to seek the blessings of the governor’s wife to win tenders or get paid. He said they also did not prove that the companies that won tenders were directly linked to the governor, his family or proxies.

The county chief, through Wajir county secretary Abdullahi Hassan Maalim, his witness, dismissed claims by the MCAs that the governor’s wife is the ‘de facto and supreme leader’ whose word is law in the county executive.

“The governor’s wife is not a member of the county executive committee of Wajir and as such, she does not participate in the meetings and the decisions by the county executive,” he said.

“As such, it is utterly false to allege that she runs the county government of Wajir,” Maalim said.

The county secretary described the allegations as frivolous, scandalous and vexatious whose intention are to cause annoyance and bring disrepute to the governor and the office he holds.

Maalim dismissed allegations that a court had ruled that the governor be investigated for abuse of office after his aide, Jeff Kithinji and two other officials close to him, were convicted for plundering taxpayers money amounting to Sh26.1 million.

He told the committee that the officers were subjected to due process of the law and later interdicted upon conviction, adding that the governor was not on trial in the case.

County deputy director for supply chain management Abdi Abdullahi Hassan, the third witness for the governor, testified that the county awarded tenders to contractors on merit and dismissed MCAs’ claims that the firms belonged to the governors’ family or proxies.

While referring to several annexures—tender documents— to his witness’s statement, Hassan said none of the companies awarded tenders supplied air or supplied items at inflated prices.

He sought to absolve the governor from any accusation touching on procurement saying the county boss has no role in procurement.

"The allegation that the governor has routinely, since assuming office, facilitated and condoned corruption by allowing the accounting officers of various department in procuring goods and services to split and structure the development budget of the county is not true,” he said.

He added, “The governor does not take part in procurement processes at any stage. He also does not appoint any member who is involved in the procurement process or actions which would otherwise amount to a breach and usurpation of powers of the accounting officer.”

The governor, through his witness, county health director Dahir Somow discounted claims by Habaswein MCA Abdirahman Dahir that he and his cronies conspired to squander all the money allocated to the health docket to fight Covid-19.

“They did not spare a dime even during the time the county is faced with Covid-19. The money allocated for healthcare has been mismanaged with basic services such as free county ambulances in Eldas constituency being available for those who can pay for it. Also money allocated for fuel and maintenance services found its way to personal pockets,” the MCA swore.

Bu the director trashed the allegations.

“The allegation that the governor has caused the health sector to run into deplorable state and that he has compromised and undermined the realisation of  highest attainable health standard is baseless, blatantly false and misleading,” Somow said.

-Edited by SKanyara