Evans Oanda, Mombasa County’s Finance Executive Committee Member (CEC) and Chief Officer, has been remanded in Industrial Area Prison, Nairobi, following his arrest for contempt of court. The arrest stems from his failure to remit a debt owed by the county government to Associated Automobile Distributors Limited, now amounting to KES 67,557,859.92.
The warrant for Oanda’s arrest was issued by High Court Justice J. Ngaah on May 31, 2024, after Murage Juma and Company Advocates, representing Associated Automobile, sought enforcement of a previous court order. The order required the Mombasa County government to pay the debt in monthly instalments of KES 1 million, a directive initially given on April 4, 2008.
Justice Ngaah’s ruling directed law enforcement to apprehend Oanda and present him in court to explain why he should not be jailed for up to six months. The arrest warrant emphasized that the executing officers must report back on the arrest and the reasons if it was not executed.
Court documents reveal that the debt traces back to a consent judgment entered on March 10, 2004. Benjul Gudka, a director at Associated Automobile, had filed an application on July 21, 2000, seeking KES 13,541,815 from the Mombasa County government, then known as the Municipal Council of Mombasa.
Despite the initial agreement to settle the debt in monthly instalments of KES 500,000, the payments were not made as required. This led to further court actions, including an order of Mandamus issued on September 22, 2006, compelling the Town Clerk of the Municipal Council to pay the outstanding amount plus accrued interest at 12% per annum.
He is expected to be arraigned on Friday, August 23, 2024, as confirmed by a warrant of commitment issued on August 22.
