How Nairobi County chief made Sh1.4b in five years

Suspended Nairobi County Chief Finance Officer Jimmy Mutuku Kiamba deposited nearly Sh1.4 billion to his private and business accounts over a period of five years, The Standard on Sunday can reveal.

The bulk of these deposits were made to his private accounts, now the subject of investigations by the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC).

Majority of these deposits were made between 2011 and 2014 when Mr Kiamba, 41, served as treasurer of Nairobi City Council and later as chief finance officer of Nairobi County. However, the volume and the frequency of the deposits increased substantially in 2013 until December 2014 when EACC went to court to freeze his accounts.

Documents presented in court by EACC details a series of multiple cash deposits nearly on a daily basis to Kiamba’s nine accounts in five local banks. Five of the accounts are held in CFC Stanbic Bank Ltd while the remaining four are held in Standard Chartered Bank, Co-operative Bank, Equity Bank and Gulf Africa Bank Ltd.

Of the five accounts at CFC Stanbic, one belongs to Jimbise Ltd, a company formed in 2010 and which Kiamba and his wife Tracy Mbinya Musau are directors.

However, only a fraction of the money, Sh45 million, was deposited in Jimbise’s accounts between April 2011 and October 2014.

Incredibly, between August 2009 and February 2015, Kiamba’s gross salary as a public officer was only Sh8.5 million, a yawning difference between his vast wealth and his known income.

Mr Kiamba has defended himself as an astute businessman who made his fortune by, among other things, selling water from his borehole to residents of Machakos County. He told EACC investigators that he also buys and sells cattle in Narok and grows wheat and maize in the same region. He also said he earns a fortune from rental income.

Given the nature of these businesses, one would expect Kiamba’s accounts to reflect a healthy bottom line at end month — in respect to rental income — and at the end of the year in respect to farming.

‘Income flows’

However, the deposits in his accounts tell a different story: that of a prosperous businessman who banks anything as low as Sh50,000 to as high as Sh70 million in day.

For example, September 11, 2014 was particularly good pay day for Mr Kiamba. On that day, Sh83.6 million was deposited to his accounts. Sh72 million was deposited to his Standard Chartered Bank account, Machakos branch. That was the single highest amount ever deposited to his accounts on a single day.

On the same day, three other deposits of Sh1.3 million, Sh 1.37 million and Sh9 million (thus totaling Sh11.6 million) were made to his CFC Stanbic account at Harambee Avenue. Two months earlier, on June 6, Kiamba had personally deposited Sh42 million in the same account, making it the second highest ever amount to hit his account in a single transaction.

As many as 25 deposits would be made to one single account in a one month. A good number of the deposits were made by him while others were made by several other people. Once in a while, the money would be withdrawn or transferred in large amounts to other accounts.

Between April 2010 and December 2014, more than Sh300 million was deposited in his account at Standard Chartered, Machakos Branch. Between February 2013 and November 2014, a total of Sh31.9 million was deposited in his Co-operative Bank account in Athi River.

Between March 2013 and November 2014, a total of Sh286 million was deposited in his account at Equity Bank, Equity Centre branch. However, of this amount, Sh180 million is a loan he was advanced in November 2014 by the bank, and thus Sh106 million was deposited by him or other people.

A total of Sh39 million was deposited to his account at Gulf African Bank, Kenyatta Avenue branch, between March 2014 and November 2014.

By far the largest, deposits totaling Sh402 million were made to his CFC Stanbic Bank account, Harambee Avenue branch, between November 2012 and November 2014.

Deposits totaling Sh162 million were made to another of his accounts in the same bank in the same branch between May 2010 and July 2014. Mr Kiamba also holds a dollar account at CFC Stanbic Bank, Harambee Avenue, which had been credited with a total of $64,000 (about Sh6.2 million) between September 2012 and July 2014.

Asked to explain the huge deposits, Kiamba told EACC investigators that the deposits were actually not new and that he was moving a relatively static amount of money between his accounts in other banks or in the same bank.

“Over the years, I moved funds from one account or bank to another and considered this as income flows. This is despite the fact that funds were moving from one account held by myself to another held by myself,” he told EACC investigators in a statement dated March 30, 2015 seen by The Standard on Sunday. “I started farming way back in 2006 on large scale when I was working in Kipsigis. I learnt (sic) and experienced how people were investing land (sic) to plant wheat which was sold off as wheat on farm or harvest. I started by leasing out large tracks of land for farming wheat and I have continued to do so in Narok,” he said in his statement.

However, much of what he told EACC investigators do not tally with the mandatory public servants’ income declaration that he made to the Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA). Although he told EACC that he earned Sh136 million from trading in cattle; Sh105 million and Sh10.9 from wheat and maize farming respectively, between November 2011 and October 2013, these figures are not reflected in his statement to KRA for the same period.

Dramatic rise

He also failed to provide EACC with any documentary proof that he carries out any farming activities. He is currently negotiating with KRA for an out-of-court settlement over unremitted taxes dating back to 2007.

But it is perhaps his income declaration statement from November 2011 and October 2013 that best captures the dramatic rise of Kiamba’s fortunes in such a short period.

In 2007, he declared that he had earned Sh831,840 from his salary. He indicated that he had assets worth Sh1 million – a plot worth Sh400,000 in Athi River and a car worth Sh600,000.

In his declaration for the period between November 1, 2007 and October 31, 2009, he indicated his gross salary was Sh1,090,800 for the two years. He also indicated that he earned Sh600,000 from rental income for the two years. He stated that he had rental flats in Athi River worth Sh2.7 million and a Totoya RAV 4 car worth Sh1.2 million.

However, when he made returns for 2011-13, his fortunes had dramatically changed. He indicated that he earned a salary of Sh3.6 million in that period. He also indicated that he earned Sh95 million from rental income.

Kiamba indicated that he earned Sh60 million from investments in fuel and restaurant in Mombasa. He also indicated that he had Sh11.7 million in cash in his accounts. He indicated that he had five parcels of land worth more than Sh120 million in Machakos County.

In addition, he indicated that he had six cars worth Sh22.1 million. Furthermore, he indicated that he had houses in Nairobi worth Sh250 million. These include a house in Runda worth Sh90 million and three apartments at Pritt Lane Court worth more than Sh40 million which have been charged to Equity Bank for a Sh180 million loan.

Furthermore, he said he owns other houses in Machakos County. In total he was worth Sh422 million by the end of 2013, a dramatic change of fortunes from two years before.

He told EACC that his income from farming, borrowing from friends, business, rent and other sources was Sh304 million, inclusive of the Equity Bank loan.

However, EACC said it is not satisfied with his explanations on how he acquired most of the property, including several top of the range cars and is continuing to investigate some of his financial dealings.