Governor Evans Kidero: We'll not suspend official over graft claims

Nairobi County Chief Finance Officer Jimmy Mutuku Kiamba cannot be suspended over corruption claims until he is taken to court, Governor Evans Kidero has said.

"What if he is not charged as they plan and then he comes back and sue us? We have a contract with Kiamba and have to respect his rights," said Mr Kidero.

The Governor was reacting to a request by the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) that the county government suspends Kiamba over corruption claims.

He said EACC was free to probe Kiamba and take action if there was evidence.

Kidero said the common practice is that a suspect is suspended once charged.

EACC has frozen the bank accounts of Kiamba following investigations that unearthed millions of shillings in his bank accounts.

EACC Spokesman Yassin Amaro said their detectives had been investigating Kiamba for several weeks, and had written to the county public service director asking her to suspend him.

Amaro said they intend to charge Kiamba with corruption and mismanagement of public resources.

The commission wrote to the County Secretary and Head of Public Service Lilian Ndegwa, asking for the suspension of the official to allow for further investigations.

EACC Deputy Secretary Michael Mubea said, in the letter on Wednesday, that Kiamba's continued stay in office was a hindrance to the investigations.

The EACC officials raided the Nairobi home and office of Kiamba to look for documents over corruption claims they are investigating.

The officials had obtained a search warrant before staging the raids that lasted over six hours on Tuesday.