Kitui County Assembly Speaker Detained in Dubai Over Sh8.9 Million Debt
Kitui County Assembly Speaker Kelvin Kinengo has been held in Dubai for two weeks due to an alleged unpaid debt of Sh8.9 million owed to the county.
Mr. Kinengo, who was in Dubai for official assembly duties, was prevented from returning to Kenya on Wednesday evening, July 10. The ban was enforced by Dubai International Airport police, following a court-ordered travel restriction on senior Kitui County officials.
The Speaker had to stay in Dubai for fifteen days until Thursday, July 25, when he was permitted to leave after county officials back in Kenya urgently worked to resolve the lawsuit and lift the travel ban.
The restriction was imposed after a Dubai-based consulting firm involved in organizing Dubai Expo 2021 for the county secured an injunction from a UAE Federal Court in 2021. The court ordered the detention of senior county officials passing through Dubai until the debt was fully settled.
The consultancy firm, TBLDC Group, claimed in court documents seen by Gossipa2z.com that Kitui County hired them to arrange the participation of former governor Charity Ngilu and a 15-member delegation at the Dubai Expo 2021, which took place from October 17 to 26 this year.
County Solicitor Timothy Mwange declined to comment on the situation, but several officials, who requested anonymity due to the political sensitivity of the issue, confirmed that no defense was mounted despite receiving multiple court summonses to attend the Dubai hearings virtually.
A senior official familiar with the matter stated that the county attorney’s office received the lawsuit papers in Arabic but failed to have them translated into English or understand the case’s details.
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The company alleged in court that it covered expenses for registration, hotel reservations, airport transfers, and other services for the Kitui delegation, totaling US$55,000. The county government, however, canceled their participation on the day the Expo began.
This amount is roughly Sh6 million, based on the 2021 average exchange rate of Sh109.6 to the US dollar.
Governor Ngilu’s 16-member delegation for the nine-day Dubai Expo, which they did not attend, included the then Speaker George Ndotto, two members of the County Executive Committee, two chief officers, and nine County Assembly members.
The Dubai court ruled in favor of the company, awarding the claim and legal costs with interest at 10 percent per month. The county eventually paid US$67,000 or Sh8.94 million.
Following the court ruling, the consultancy obtained a travel ban for the governor, deputy governor, county treasurer, and the assembly speaker. This ban meant that any of these four senior county officials would be arrested and detained if they entered Dubai until the debt was resolved.
Mr. Kinengo unintentionally fell into this trap, which had been set long before he assumed office in 2023.
Upon arriving at the airport to return to Nairobi, Mr. Kinengo was informed of a red alert and was referred to local courts, preventing his departure. He had been in Dubai for a week with the County Assembly Service Board, whose members were permitted to return home.
In an interview with the nation, Mr. Kinengo, a young speaker, shared his experience of being detained abroad for issues he wasn’t aware of. He had previously addressed the matter publicly during the annual Kitui Agricultural and Trade Fair at the Ithookwe Showground.
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He explained that the following day, Thursday, he was directed to a local court where he had to access case details via a portal, which were also in Arabic.
“I wasn’t under arrest or in police custody in Dubai, I was free to move within the city, but I couldn’t leave the country as my details were flagged at all exit points,” Mr. Kinengo said. He noted that the travel ban could only be lifted by the plaintiff once he settled the debt.
As a lawyer, Mr. Kinengo found it challenging to understand the reason for the ban due to the UAE’s limited working days from Sunday to Thursday.
“I informed Governor Julius Malombe of my situation, and he quickly called an emergency cabinet meeting to resolve the issue,” he said. He was finally allowed to board a rescheduled flight to Nairobi after the county settled the claim and the Dubai courts lifted the ban.
When contacted for comment, Zakayo Kimanzi, the former county secretary under Governor Ngilu, stated that the county had not committed to or signed a contract with the Dubai firm.
“I am aware of the case, but the claim is invalid because we never issued a Local Purchase Order (LPO) to the Dubai firm, which is the only legal document that binds a county to a formal contract,” Mr. Kimanzi said.
The former official suggested that the Malombe administration should have defended the case when summoned by the Dubai courts and demanded proof of any contractual obligations.
It remains unclear whether the county plans to appeal the case.
Kitui County Assembly Speaker Detained in Dubai Over Sh8.9 Million Debt
