The Auditor General flagged Sh480 million in legal fees that was spent against a budget of Sh100 million.
Legal Department director Violet Oyangi was at pains to explain why the payment was not regularised within three months as is the norm and why it did not pass through the County Assembly for approval.
Mr Ouko demanded an explanation from the Finance department on why payments were made outside the IFMIS against the law.
Nairobi County’s legal and finance departments are on the spot for surpassing their budgets and making payments outside the Integrated Financial Management Information System (IFMIS).
Auditor General Edward Ouko flagged Sh480 million in legal fees that the devolved unit spent against a budget of Sh100 million in the year ended June 2016.
Legal Department director Violet Oyangi was at pains to explain why the payment was not regularised within three months as is the norm and why it did not pass through the County Assembly for approval.
“The department spent more than its approved legal fees budget by 480 per cent and on top Sh113 million was not adequately captured, documents not made available for review and some cannot be confirmed,” Mr Ouko said in his report.
The Nairobi County Assembly Public Accounts Committee chaired by Mabatini Ward MCA, Wilfred Oluoch Odalo, sought to know why the payment was not captured in the supplementary budget for the financial year.
Mr Ouko demanded an explanation from the Finance department on why payments were made outside IFMIS against the law.
Acting chief finance officer, Ekaya Alumasi, defended his department's officers saying they were compelled to pay following arrest warrants and court orders from concerned parties.
“All payments are supposed to be paid through the IFMIS but certain circumstances arise when the budget is exhausted and you can process the payments outside it then,” he told the Comitee.
He confirmed the legal department made a request for the payments but that it was not approved by his department and therefore it never reached the Assembly for approval.
Members wondered how the legal department arrived at the colossal sum for legal fees paid to law firm Mugoye and Associates for representing the county in a land dispute whose value was not known.
Ms Oyangi defended the move saying that legal fees do not exclusively depend on the land value but on other factors such as the subject matter and complexity of the case.
