Samuel Maina, the ousted acting KBC MD, claims he made a mistake in his offer to settle a long-running disagreement with Dubai's Channel 2.

Fired earlier on Tuesday, Maina claims that his letter to the London-based law firm Denton stated the settlement offer in the wrong currency.

PHOTO | COURTESY  KBC's acting Managing Director Samuel Maina

The MD allegedly offered USD five billion (Ksh.769.5 billion) to Channel 2 rather than the Ksh.5 billion specified by the parent ministry.

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Maina has since apologized to the ministry, citing a "grievous misrepresentation of the figure quoted, and withdrawn the letter with the USD figures."

In a rebuttal issued on Tuesday, ICT CS Eliud Owalo ordered the termination of Maina's contract and the imposition of disciplinary action against him "for committing the government of the republic of Kenya to pay Ksh.5 billion without seeking the concurrence of the Ministry, National Treasury, the office of the Attorney General and the Department of Justice in total disregard of earlier instructions."

PHOTO | COURTESY  KBC's acting Managing Director Samuel Maina

The communication from the CS is the latest in a series of correspondence between the Ministry, the Solicitor General, and the PS in the same ministry regarding efforts to reach an out-of-court settlement with Channel 2 corporation, which had sued the state broadcaster for improperly terminating a contract entered into between the two entities, under which Channel 2 was supposed to provide content for KBC Metro TV.

According to prior correspondence between the parties, the "government agreed to offer Channel 2 a total of Ksh.5 billion as the final settlement."