Former electoral commissioner sues 'Chicken Scam' mastermind

NAIROBI: City lawyer Ken Nyaundi has now moved to sue beleaguered broker Trevy Oyombra for linking him to the infamous chicken scandal.

Nyaundi, who served as a commissioner in the defunct Interim Independent Electoral Commission (IIEC) wants the high court to compel Oyombra to pay him damages for defaming his name.

The lawyer further wants, Oyombra who acted for British firm Smith & Ouzman as a local agent, be ordered to publish a public apology in three national dailies and internet.

Through law firm of Ogeto & Otachi advocates, the former electoral commissioner moved to the high court on last Thursday saying that Oyombra has in public and correspondences, sought bribes ostensibly to give to IIEC officials to secure tenders for ballot printing.

Already directors of Smith & Ouzman have been convicted in the UK for bribing IIEC and Kenya National Examination Council (KNEC) officials to secure the contracts in Kenya.

Oyombra, who is named in court papers as the British firm’s Kenya agent had negotiated for heavy bribes allegedly meant for the former officials who include the current IEBC chair Isaack Hassan, Nyaundi and Energy Cabinet Secretary Davis Chirchir who served along the tow as commissioners.

However in court documents, Nyaundi denies having any dealing with the broker, maintaining that during his time at the electoral body tendering procedure was open and competitive, and thus could have not been compromised.

“The plaintiff (Nyaundi) avers that he has never in his lifetime met or spoken to Mr Oyombra and his postures and pretensions of having met or spoken to him in order to arrange bribes were selfish inventions crafted and fashioned to procure payments for himself (Oyombra) and such pretensions were highly injurious to my client,” the affidavit from Ogeto & Otachi reads in part.

Nyaundi argues that proceeding in the UK court, have now become a matter of public notoriety, widely reported and quoted by the press both in the UK and Kenya, and in the reports and commentary his character and reputation has been impugned on the basis of correspondences by Oyombra to Smith & Ouzman, which he says are untrue and was made without his knowledge or authority.

“Nyaundi avers that he has never received any money or favour from Oyombra nor has he ever commissioned him with the task of seeking monetary favour on his behalf or otherwise dealt with him,” the affidavit adds.

Nicholas Charles Smith, 43, was jailed for three years by the Southwark Crown Court for bribing IIEC officials to secure contracts to print ballot papers while his father, Christopher John Smith, 71, was sentenced to an 18-month suspended term for his role in the scam.