A Treasury official found with a Sh8.7 million M-Pesa balance and suspected to have stolen millions from the government through facilitation allowances is in fresh trouble after the graft watchdog got orders to freeze three properties.
High Court judge Esther Maina froze the properties belonging to Faith Kiptis, including an apartment in Syokimau, and plots in Shanzu, Mombasa and Kilifi, pending the conclusion of investigations by the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC).
The EACC says she is suspected to have acquired the properties through corruption and that they should be preserved.
“I am satisfied that there are reasonable grounds demonstrated to warrant the grant of the orders sought,” Justice Maina said.
The EACC said it was apprehensive that Ms Kiptis might transfer or dispose of the properties, in light of the ongoing investigations.
The court ordered the case to be mentioned on June 13, 2023.
In July, the EACC obtained orders freezing Ms Kiptis’ bank accounts, pending the conclusion of investigations. She has allegedly received Sh79.5 million in imprest and facilitation allowances between January 2020 and June his year. She has a balance of Sh8.7 million in her M-Pesa and Sh7 million in two bank accounts.
Other Treasury officials whose accounts were frozen were Robert Theuri Murage, Esther Ngeru, Doris Simiyu and Tracy Njoki King’e with the total cash frozen being Sh55 million.
Ms Ngeru is an internal auditor at the Treasury, earning a salary of Sh188,000. The anti-graft body said she received Sh53 million as imprests, facilitation and extraneous allowance between January 2020 and June this year. The EACC says she has been making withdrawals from her M-Pesa in batches of Sh50,000 and Sh100,000 and cheque withdrawals leaving a balance of Sh8.5 million.
Ms Simiyu, an accountant allegedly received Sh20 million for imprest, facilitation and extraneous allowance in the same period.
