Court freezes land, car of ex-KRA staff over Sh278.4m unexplained wealth

The Supreme Court has allowed an application by the Anti-Graft Authority to freeze Sh278m worth of property belonging to the former Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) which it is suspected of obtaining through bribes and kickbacks.

Justice Esther Maina authorized a request, filed by the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission, to freeze Mr Jeremiah Kamau-Keniwa’s assets, pending a request for forfeiture of assets to the state.

The Anti-Graft Authority obtained temporary orders freezing land, in Nairobi, Kitengela and Laikipia, as well as money in MPesa and bank accounts, in May last year.

In the past, the agency said, Mr. Keniwa and his companies have engaged in schemes to hide assets in corporate entities.

The Anti-Corruption Authority said there was an urgent need to ban any dealings at all with the said assets to prevent their waste as it would render confiscation procedures useless.

The judge said that “the defendants did not appear before this court, an inconvenience to which they have been subjected which would outweigh the imminent danger of loss or misappropriation of suit property,” adding that, in the circumstances, it was right to issue the injunction in favor of the EACC.

Europe’s anti-corruption watchdog brought the case last year, saying Mr Keniwa was suspected of obtaining the property through bribes. This is after accumulating assets of Sh359.5 million.

Mr. Keniwa later satisfactorily explained how he had acquired properties worth Kshs 83m leaving other properties worth Kshs 278.4m as unexplained assets.

The properties include plots of land in Nairobi and three others in Kitengela worth NIS 68 million. Bestline Enterprises registered real estate in Laikipia County valued at Sh18m.

Also frozen were four plots of land in Ruweru, Kyambu county worth NIS 95 million, a Toyota Prado car worth 500,000 shillings and 156,648 yuan, which was seized from his home on June 9, 2021.

Mr Kinyua initially worked for the KRA for seven years before resigning in March 2021 and EACC said his net salary for this period was Sh11.6m.

According to the EACC, Mr Kinyua’s explanation was insufficient and the assets should be forfeited to the government.

The commission said that Mr. Kenio was the ultimate beneficiary of funds gained as a result of abuse of office and unethical behaviour, and that the indirect transfer of funds was intended to conceal its illegal sources.

Court documents show that Mr. Keniwa was employed by the KRA as a graduate trainee on January 28, 2005. He was promoted to supervisor at the local tax department, where he worked until he resigned.

But in just seven years, he has acquired 19 plots of land in Ruweru, Kiambu County, Laikipia and Nairobi.

The commission says Mr Keniwa received massive and consecutive cash deposits into his bank accounts and M-Pesa letters, which he failed to satisfactorily establish the source of, leading to the conclusion that the funds were bribes obtained while in office.

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