The High Court has dismissed a case brought by the anti-graft body seeking the confiscation of over Sh643 million in assets and funds belonging to Wilson Nashun Kanani, a Nairobi County employee and co-director of the 1824 Popular Club on Langata Road.
Judge Nixon Sifuna said that Al-Kanani and his wife explained satisfactorily how they obtained the assets and money.
While lifting the order freezing assets and funds in five bank accounts, the judge said the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) had failed to prove that Mr. Al-Kanani had obtained them corruptly or through corrupt conduct.
“I find that the respondents satisfactorily explained that the assets were genuinely obtained because there is no evidence on record that he (Mr. Kanani) is corrupt, involved in corruption or was obtained through corruption. The explanations and evidence presented to the court are satisfactory,” the judge said.
EACC said Mr Kanani, a city district development control officer, was given assets worth millions, which was inconsistent with his gross monthly salary of Sh85,630.
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The EACC said Kanani abused his position of trust by receiving revenues meant for the Nairobi County Government through bank accounts maintained by his private companies and his wife.
The committee said it had completed investigations and established that Mr. Kanani and his companies were in possession of unexplained assets worth Sh643.2 million.
They include land, cars, cash back and cash deposits. Among the assets are an apartment in Nairobi worth Sh6.5 million, a house in Busia worth Sh11.2 million, and land in Naivasha worth Sh3.5 million.
But the judge indicated that the only evidence linking Al-Kanani to the alleged corruption is a criminal case in which he was convicted, but he appealed the decision and overturned the ruling.
The judge said the position taken by the EACC that his salary was too small to justify the assets and funds in his accounts was a wrong measure.
Justice Sifuna said he did not agree that a person’s wealth should be tied to his salary just because there were prospects or earning income apart from the salary slip.
“A motivated public servant who invests his money will have more assets than a CEO who spends his huge salary on entertainment and sin,” the judge said.
EACC said Al-Kanani acquired four luxury cars – a Toyota Land Cruiser V8, a Mercedes-Benz E 300, a Mercedes-Benz E350, and a Toyota Alphard in a period of five years.
The anti-graft body also said it was investigating his five bank accounts and found that he received cumulative deposits worth Sh506 million between January 2016 and October 31, 2022.
Judge Sifuna said that Al-Kanani and his wife provided the court with data explaining how they obtained the property.
The judge added that the wife only joined the case because of her tie, if for nothing else. He said no wrongdoing had been shown on her part and that seeking to crucify the husband for the marriage was “ridiculous, oppressive and somewhat insulting”.
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