By;Elisha odoyo
The embattled former Nairobi governor Evans Kidero has brushed off claims by the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) which said he owned assets worth KSh 9 billion. The besieged former county boss accused EACC of over valuing his assets in the recent list of properties they claimed he owned saying he was only worth KSh 563 million.
The former Nairobi leader admitted he owned 60 of the 75 properties that were valued by the commission but he said they were not worth KSh 9 billion,Kidero divulged the valuation by EACC included other peoples’ property with the aim of justifying their harassment.
Kidero accused the commission of over stepping its mandate by investigating property that he owned before he vied for public office saying it was the responsibility of the National Police service to probe private citizens. Some of the properties that he disowned included Yala Towers in Nairobi which EACC valued at KSh 1.2 billion, 50 rental units in Kilimani worth KSh 1 billion, a house in Lavington, seven apartments, a house in Kisumu and eight vehicles. The commission also questioned a KSh 200 million in his account but he said the money was a bank loan that he had received in his account.
The anti-graft body claimed the former governor accumulated his wealth in a fraudulent manner during his reign as the county leader and as the Chief Executive Officer at Mumias Sugar Company. Kidero had moved to court through his lawyer, Tom Ojienda, to stop the probe against him after detectives raided his palatial home in Muthaiga for crucial documents to nail him over graft allegations.