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The Nairobian

Murkomen firm fails to account for Sh15m in NYS scandal

Politics

By Wilfred Ayaga | Dec 16, 2016

Elgeyo Marakwet Senator Kipchumba Murkomen (Left) and gubernatorial aspirant Bernard Chepkulei chat after election of interim Jubilee Party officials at Iten. Murkomen noted that his name is being tarnished as it is being dragged into the National Youth Service (NYS) scandal. He challenged the intergrity of the Parliamentary Accounts Committee (PAC) calling for the members to lay bare their accounts and those of their associates. 15-12-2016. PHOTOS BY: KEVIN TUNOI

A law firm yesterday failed to account for Sh15 million it received from one of the companies under investigation over the National Youth Service (NYS) scandal.

Sing'oei, Murkomen and Sigei advocates could not convince the National Assembly Public Accounts Committee (PAC) that the money received from Out of the Box Solutions was used to buy land in Eldoret.

This reinforced claims by some MPs that the law firm, associated with Elgeyo Marakwet Senator Kipchumba Murkomen, may have been used to launder some of the NYS millions.

Among documents that the firm failed to give the committee, chaired by Nicholas Gumbo (Rarieda) is the land sale agreements and instructions for purchase of the property.

This was despite demands that the documents be tabled as proof that the transaction actually took place after the money was wired to another law firm, Kigen and Company Advocates.

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Hillary Sigei, a managing partner with Murkomen's firm, did not produce the documents citing client confidentiality. He also refused to give the committee the firm's bank statements, which the lawmakers believe may contain key information on the money trail.

"We are ready to assist this committee, but we will only do so where it is practically possible under the Constitution and under the law...There can never be production of documents against the Constitution and the written law," Mr Sigei told the committee.

He accused the committee of engaging in a fishing expedition, shadow boxing and using his law firm as a guinea pig.

"If the argument is that accounts of businesses and individuals who have in any way dealt with matters related to NYS whether as investigators, lawyers, businessmen, Government agencies need to be randomly sampled, then nothing stops this committee from leading by example and ensuring that its members, their businesses, their associates provide their accounts to the public for general investigations. What we are totally against is for the committee to use our firm as a guinea pig or for fishing expedition," Mr Sigei told the committee.

But the law firm's position attracted the ire of the committee which is keen to unravel the money trail, including payments of Sh500,000 made to Senate Majority Leader Kithure Kindiki and a similar amount the law firm paid itself.

Out of the Box Solutions was hired by the Ministry of Devolution to provide publicity services, but was caught in the web of suspicious payments made to various firms through the NYS.

The team accused the lawyer of being dodgy and arrogant. Matters were made worse when Mr Murkomen allegedly sent insulting short text messages to members as the proceedings were going on.

"Let Senator Murkomen stop sending messages to committee members. I have received insulting messages. Privilege must be exercised with decorum," Mr Gumbo said.