Former Machakos County Executive Committee member Urbanus Wambua has moved to the Court of Appeal to challenge a ruling that allowed the anti-corruption commission to seize part of his Sh91 million assets alleged to be tainted.
Pending the determination of the appeal, the High Court has temporarily restrained the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) from seizing the unexplained wealth on the condition that Mr Wambua provides a security of Sh80.2 million.
Justice Benjamin Musyoki ordered Mr Wambua to deposit the security sums in an interest-earning bank account jointly held by him and the EACC. The judge also ordered that a sum of Sh10.9 million held by Mr Wambua in his two accounts at Co-operative and Equity banks be preserved.
The court directed Mr Wambua together with his five associates and their four trading companies to deposit the security sums within 90 days.
The wealth targeted by the EACC was acquired by the former county official through the award of lucrative tenders to companies linked to his family members and associates, the court papers indicate.
In the event they do not deposit the security sums, the temporary orders suspending the execution of the judgment, which allows the EACC to seize the assets, will lapse.
"The main point of consideration in ordering provision of security is that the court should not suspend the successful party’s enjoyment of the fruits of its litigation without giving it the comfort of a safe and smooth haven should the appeal not succeed," said the judge.
Mr Wambua has moved to the Court of Appeal to challenge a High Court's finding that his assets were acquired through corruption when he served in the Machakos County government between January 2014 and July 2021 during the tenure of Governor Alfred Mutua, now a Cabinet Secretary.
He was also the chairman of the Standing Tender Committee of the County Government of Machakos.
In the judgment dated October 28, 2024, the assets forfeited by court to EACC include a house in Kibauni/Kamuthwa valued at Sh80.2 million and Sh10.9 million in cash held in Co-operative Bank and Equity Bank.
Trial judge Patrick Otieno ruled that Mr Wambua had failed to give a satisfactory explanation as to the source of his wealth, particularly the house and the cash in the banks. The judge said the burden of proof was on Mr Wambua to explain the source of his wealth.
"Mr Wambua having admitted that the companies are ultimately owned by him and the fact that his companies were awarded tenders only and specifically during his tenure in itself raises reasonable suspicion, that he had a hand, using his office, to have the tenders so awarded," said the trial judge.
In the recovery suit, Mr Wambua was sued alongside Fiona Muthoki, Anthony Musyoka, John Kiio, Magdaline Kiio and Sharon Kioko, who were described in court as family members of Mr Wambua and close associates. The other defendants were four trading entities listed as Wisdom Holdings Limited, Wifih International Ltd, Kikoto General Merchants and Wemmar Enterprises Ltd.
EACC filed the recovery suit in May 2022, alleging that Mr Wambua, who the Agriculture, Food and Cooperative Development county executive, abused his position of trust and in a conflict of interest, participated in a scheme to award high value tenders to companies associated with him.
The EACC conducted investigations and found that between January 2014 and 2021, Mr Wambua awarded the tenders to Wisdom Holdings, Wifih, Kikoto and Wemmar Enterprises.
The court heard that the companies were directly linked to Mr Wambua's wife, brother and associates, and that the awards were in contravention of the Public Procurement and Disposal Act 2005 and Section 42 of the Anti-Corruption Economic Crimes Act.
The EACC claimed that the high value tenders were secured by Mr Wambua and his proxies through non-competitive bidding processes, that circumvented procurement laws, in return for which they received a total of Sh457 million during the investigation period.
Having established that Mr Wambua's known legitimate sources of income during the investigation period amounted to Sh16.2 million (net salary), the EACC issued him with a statutory notice to explain the disproportion between the assets in question and his known legitimate sources of income.
