Ex-PS Omollo seeks access to accounts for family bills

Former principal secretary Lilian Omollo has pleaded with the High Court to vary orders freezing her bank accounts, saying her dependants were suffering.

Ms Omollo, through her lawyer Stephen Ligunya, told Justice Hedwig Ong’udi Monday that the orders obtained by Assets Recovery Agency (ARA) was subjecting her to hardship.

Mr Ligunya argued the court has the powers to set aside the orders, saying that her client had not been convicted.

He told the court that Ms Omollo has been servicing a mortgage in addition to paying utility bills.

The bills, according to papers filed in court, include servicing the Sh150,000 loan at Kenya Commercial Bank #ticker:KCB, school fees amounting to Sh5.2 million, another school fees for three dependants of Sh139,800 and payment to domestic workers of Sh219,000. Other payments are towards upkeep for elderly parents (Sh150,000), utility bills (Sh102,079), fuel and maintenance of vehicles (Sh449,000), food (Sh150,000) and incidentals (Sh210,000).

Ms Omollo's accounts at Equity Bank #ticker:EQTY and Diamond Trust Bank #ticker:DTK were frozen on October 29, 2018 after the ARA filed an urgent application arguing that it had reasonable grounds to believe that the funds were stolen from National Youth Service (NYS). The accounts had in total about Sh33 million.

Six accounts at Equity Bank registered in the names of Lilian Muthoni Mbogo had $67,331.9, an account in the name of LIDI Estates Ltd had $28,981, another account in the same bank and the same name had Sh2,297,495 and yet another had $8,979.83.

Still another account at Equity in Ms Omollo’s name had Sh1.68 million. At Diamond Trust Bank, an account registered in the name of Sahara Consultants had Sh5.65 million, while three accounts registered in her children’s names had more than Sh11 million.

The ARA believes that the monies were unlawfully acquired and successfully had them frozen pending an application for them to be forfeited to the government.