Firm wants City Hall official jailed for contempt

Medical supplies firm Baylem Limited wants Nairobi county secretary Robert Ayisi jailed for failing to pay it Sh110 million for the construction and commissioning of a new mortuary at Mbagathi Hospital last year.

Baylem says Dr Ayisi has failed to ensure that the firm receives its dues despite City Hall agreeing to settle the full Sh110 million in four installments between February and May this year.

City Hall has, however, asked Justice Francis Tuiyott to halt Baylem’s application for contempt against Dr Ayisi, arguing that it has no funds at the moment owing to a dispute with the Kenya Revenue Authority over Sh4.3 billion in unpaid taxes.

The Mbagathi Hospital Mortuary was built to ease pressure on City Mortuary and provide an alternative to families that cannot afford to preserve bodies of their relatives in private funeral homes.

Baylem says that during a February meeting with governor Evans Kidero, it confirmed that money had been set aside to clear the firm’s debt but that Dr Ayisi was yet to release the funds.

“On February 3, 2017 in the terms of the Nairobi County government this honourable court entered judgment for Baylem. However to date, the county government has not complied with the order, in a clear show of disregard of the authority of the honourable court and the force of the order made,” Baylem says.

“The plaintiff prays that this honourable court be pleased to order that Dr Ayisi be committed to civil jail for disobedience of this honourable court for such a time that the honourable court may deem fit and just,” Baylem says.

But City Hall claims that its bank accounts have been frozen by the taxman who is seeking to recover Sh4.3 billion from it, and that it is unable to disburse any funds at the moment.

The KRA had in December frozen City Hall’s accounts with Equity, Co-operative Banks, the Central Bank of Kenya and revenue collector Webtribe. But City Hall obtained a court order lifting the freeze after moving to court.