Former Governor of Nairobi Evans Kidero walked free from court on Monday after being acquitted in a case involving Ksh 213 million.
The court’s decision absolved him from Counts 1 to 17 while Counts 18 to 35 were left for him to respond to in his defense.
Kidero along with senior former-county officials, Lilian Wanjiru Ndegwa, Jimmy Mutuku Kiamba, and Gregory Mwakanongo, were charged with abuse of office, conspiracy to commit corruption, and dealing in suspected property.
Prosecutors alleged that while Kidero was governor, he received Ksh 14 million in August 2014 and Ksh 10 million in September 2014 from Lodwar Wholesalers Limited and that he should have known that there was a likelihood those funds were disbursed corruptly.
EACC also claimed that Kidero and his co-accused were grossly mismanaging county resources and benefitting from irregular payments in what was a highly publicized case in Kidero’s home region for the last several years.
The courtroom’s atmosphere was tense while the judge delivered a verdict on the case that had been ongoing since Kidero had left office. Outside the courts, jubilant supporters celebrated the acquittal, calling it a long-awaited justice moment for the ex-governor.
The ruling offers Kidero an opportunity to move on from the court cases and focus on his future engagements, while a conversation that this sets in motion into what was arguably a high-profile corruption case in Kenya’s political climate rages on.
