The former Nairobi County Attorney, Ms. Lydia Kwamboka, has distanced former Governor Mike Sonko from the multi-million shilling controversial revenue collection contract with Web Tribe Limited, telling a Nairobi court that the deal was “sealed long before Sonko set foot at City Hall.”

Testifying before Milimani Anti-Corruption Magistrate Charles Ondieki, Kwamboka, who served as County Attorney between 2018 and September 2023, said revenue collection contract between the county government and Web Tribe Limited, trading as Jambopay, now at the centre of Sonko’s Sh20 million graft trial, was a legacy of the Evans Kidero administration.

According to her, when the Sonko administration assumed office in late 2017, Webtribe was still collecting revenue before its contract was terminated due to allegations of misappropriation of funds, which was raised in the cabinet by the Former Nairobi County Finance CEC.

“During my tenure as County Attorney, I never drafted, reviewed, or signed any contract between Web Tribe and the County Government of Nairobi,” she testified.

“That contract was done and executed during Governor Kidero’s tenure. Sonko simply inherited it.”

Kwamboka, who was appearing as a defence witness for Sonko, emphasized that her office was the custodian of all county legal documents and that the County Attorney was, by law, the principal legal adviser to the county government.

“Our office advises on all legal matters and safeguards every contract entered between the county and any third party,” she said. “If there had been a new agreement under Sonko, I would have known.”

The soft-spoken lawyer recalled that Web Tribe’s performance as a revenue collector quickly came under scrutiny when Sonko’s Cabinet took office.

“I remember vividly that there were concerns raised by the County Executive Committee on the accountability of funds collected by Web Tribe,” she said.

“The CEC for Finance tabled a Cabinet memo to review the company’s operations, and after deliberation, we agreed to terminate their engagement and seek a new service provider.”

She explained that the Cabinet resolved to partner with National Bank of Kenya (NBK) in a government-to-government arrangement to improve transparency in collecting county revenue.

“The decision was made to move to a government-to-government model for better accountability and security of funds,” she said.

“If Sonko had a personal interest in Web Tribe, he would have opposed the Cabinet decision to terminate the contract, yet he supported it.”

Kwamboka further clarified that Sonko could not have influenced payments or procurement decisions relating to Web Tribe since the governor, by law, is not an accounting officer.

“Matters of finance fall under the County Executive Committee Member for Finance and the Chief Officer of Finance and Economic Planning. The governor is not an accounting officer,” she said.

When questioned by State Prosecutor Wesley Nyamache on whether the contract was still active when Sonko took office.

 “Yes, the contract was still running when Sonko became governor, though I do not have the specific dates. What I know for certain is that it originated from Kidero’s administration,” Kwamboka responded.

She added that when the contract was eventually terminated, the county still owed Web Tribe money for services already rendered.

“If services were provided, they had to be paid for, that is standard government practice,” she explained.

She revealed that as county head of legal she did not report the allegations of misappropriation of funds by Webtribe to EACC. 

She clarified that Sonko lodged a complainant with the anti-graft agency later.