• Charity Williams told anti-corruption magistrate Douglas Ogoti that on April 18, 2016, the bank received a court order application by the anti-graft agency to investigate the county's account number.
• But Ng’arwa maintained that everything that was acquired through the order was irregular because it was not Charity who disclosed the documents.
Image: FILE
A Co-operative Bank official has denied claims that documents obtained through a court order probing the account of Nairobi City County during former Governor Evans Kidero’s tenure were irregular.
Charity Williams told anti-corruption magistrate Douglas Ogoti that on April 18, 2016, the bank received a court order application by the anti-graft agency to investigate the county's account number.
“I was asked to give the bank opening documents and disclose particulars of the county's account which were domiciled at my branch. I did not do it. The security department did it,” she said.
“So the order which had been addressed to you did not go to the correct person for execution?” lawyer Paul Ng’arwa asked.
“Any other department can be able to handle what is requested in the order,” Charity said.
But Ng’arwa maintained that everything that was acquired through the order was irregular because it was not Charity who disclosed the documents.
Ng'arwa was representing accused Lillian Ndegwa. He was also watching brief for Philip Nyachoti, who is representing Jimmy Kiambaa in the case.
The court heard that no queries were raised with respect to operations of the Nairobi City County account that has seen former Nairobi Governor Evans Kidero and 10 others face fraud charges in court.
She said that out of the 33,000 accounts they had at the City Hall branch, the county’s account was best in terms of transactions or performance.
Issues only arose when they received the order from the anti-graft agency, saying they were investigating the account over what is believed to be fraud allegations.
The bank statement which the witness was referring to on Thursday contains the county operations account held at Co-operative Bank, City Hall branch from January 1, 2014 to April 19, 2016.
In the case, Kidero has been charged together with former chief officers in his administration over the alleged loss of Sh213 million. They have denied a total of 35 counts.
The charges include conspiracy to commit an offence of corruption, abuse of office, fraudulent acquisition of public property, dealing with suspect property and unlawful failure to pay tax to a public body.
Facing the charges too is former county secretary Lilian Ndegwa, former chief finance officer Jimmy Mutuku Kiamba, former executive in charge of finance and planning Gregory Mwakanongo, former accounting head Stephen Ogago Osiro, former acting finance chief officer Luke Mugo and former acting head of treasury Maurice Ochieng Okere.
John Githua and Grace Njeri of Lodwar Wholesalers Ltd and Ngurumani Traders Ltd are accused of fraudulently receiving payments from the county government.
The charges against them state that they conspired to commit fraud which led to the loss of Sh213,327,300 at the county government between January 16, 2014 and January 25, 2016.
They allegedly conspired to commit corruption by authorising payments to various companies for services not rendered.
Edited by A.N