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Did Kidero favour his brother in Sh28.8 million tender?


Governor Evans Kidero has been named in embarrassing claims of nepotism over an overpriced tender for repair works at the City Hall Annex building.

The claims emerged during a probe by the County Assembly Public Accounts Committee over the repair of three lifts at a cost of sh28.8 million.

The probe comes after the Auditor General queried the manner the tender was single sourced and why City Hall used the amount on repair and not to purchase new lifts altogether.

Symmon Kidero, governor Kidero’s kin, is one of the directors of Schindler Company which was awarded the tender.

But the company’s technical sales engineer Issac Munji on Wednesday refuted claims of nepotism in the award of the tender, saying the relationship between the governor and the director had never influenced dealings between the company and City Hall.

Under the terms of the tender, City Hall paid Schindler Company a down payment of sh15.4 million before commencement of the repair works.

On Friday the Nairobi City Procurement Director Solomon Obiero had explained that Schindler Company had set the condition of upfront payment because City hall had history on non-payment of debt.

He also narrated how City Hall had advertised the tender on the dailies on July 9, 2013 but received no bids. They therefore opted to single source the Schindler Company which had installed the lifts.