This follows the interdiction of four senior County officials over the alleged award of fictitious tenders and an order from Nairobi Governor Evans Kidero that the said firms be investigated.
In an earlier letter to the Inspector General of Police David Kimaiyo, the governor urged for a dedicated team to dig up the scam that had bedeviled the management of Nairobi affairs.
“Verification of the twenty five companies and scrutinising all the involved documents is, no doubt, a daunting exercise. It is in this regard that I request you to appoint a strong team of fraud investigators to unearth the scam,” he said.
Kidero had revealed that the companies were notorious in the game of ‘air supply’ and that their directors were also being probed in what he termed as a titanic battle over corruption.
Among the suppliers being investigated are Mewatech Contractors, Tylo Enterprises, Ama Trading Company Ltd, Kihunya Construction and Civil Engineering Limited and Maury Enterprises Ltd.
According to Corporal Urbanus Munguti of the Criminal Investigations Department seconded to the Nairobi County Government, the suspended officers had the delivery receipt books of the suspected contractors and suppliers in their possession which had been partly used.
The delivery books were being used mainly by the interdicted officers to generate payment vouchers for the suppliers and contractors over non-existent building materials.
The Nanyuki Road Engineering Depot has been a notorious corruption hub, and Kidero seems to have cracked the whip on the closely knit cartel that has been operating there.
This is where all building and construction materials supplied to City Hall for maintenance of roads, schools, dispensaries and other construction related materials are delivered.
However, investigations revealed that once the suppliers get Local Purchase Orders (LPO) from the procurement department, they allegedly collude with the officers working at the depot who confirm in their delivery books that the good have been delivered, whereas none has been.
The impromptu search was carried out on the interdicted officers by among others Sergent David Minae, Constable Calistus Kimutai and Constable Paul Mbuthia from the Nairobi City County.