EACC Urges Charges Against Jirongo in Sh250m City Hall Land Deal Probe
The Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) is urging the prosecution of politician Cyrus Jirongo and others, alleging they received Sh250 million from the Nairobi County government in exchange for a plot of land four years ago.
According to the commission’s quarterly report, Mr. Jirongo purportedly received the sum as compensation for land in an industrial area. However, investigations revealed the land had already been developed with public utilities.
The recommendation to prosecute has been sent to the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP), Renson Ingonga, who has yet to respond to the matter.
As outlined in the report, the payment was made to Kuza Farm and Allied Limited for land acquisition during the 2019/2020 financial year. The commission found that a dispute over ownership led to a consent agreement between the Nairobi County Government and Kuza Farm. This agreement, adopted as a court decree, stipulated a payment of Sh250 million to Kuza Farm after clearing all encumbrances against the land title.
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However, the EACC deemed the payment irregular, noting that the land title was encumbered by a charge to Post Bank Credit Ltd for Kshs. 1,650,000,000. Despite this, Kuza Farm was paid the sum specified in the decree.
The EACC holds Kuza Farm and Mr. Jirongo accountable for the unlawful acquisition of public property since they received payment despite the land being encumbered.
Additionally, the commission recommends prosecuting employees of the Nairobi County Legal Department involved in enforcing the court decree, including Ms. Lydia Ogwoka and Mr. David Ogwaro, along with the chief officer for finance and planning, Mr. Halkano Waqo. They may face charges of conspiracy to commit a corruption offense pending DPP approval.
The report also mentions the DPP’s potential review of prosecuting a senior analyst and personal assistant to the Chairperson of the Commission of Revenue Allocation (CRA), Ms. Jecinter Adoyo Hezron. Allegations suggest she used forged academic documents to secure employment at the CRA, where she worked from August 2017 to July 2023, earning a gross salary of Sh15.2 million.
The EACC recommends charging Ms. Adoyo with offenses including fraudulent acquisition of public property, forgery, uttering a false document, deceiving a principal, and providing false information to a person in the public service.
EACC Urges Charges Against Jirongo in Sh250m City Hall Land Deal Probe