Sh426.85million ex-Kilifi Land Registrar’s wealth seized in graft probe

A Sh426.85 million fortune linked to a former senior land official has been ordered forfeited to the State after the High Court found that he and his associates failed to satisfactorily explain how they acquired the wealth.

Former Kilifi Principal Land Registrar Felix Mecha Nyakundi, his wife Stellah Nyaboke Otwori and companies associated with the family will lose millions held in bank and M-Pesa accounts, prime properties in Nairobi, Mombasa and Kilifi, three vehicles and cash seized during an anti-corruption search.

Justice Benjamin Musyoki, in a judgment delivered on September 18, 2026 ordered the forfeiture after finding that the assets could not be satisfactorily reconciled with the defendants’ known legitimate sources of income.

The ruling followed proceedings brought by the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) under Section 55 of the Anti-Corruption and Economic Crimes Act.

The case provides a detailed trail of transactions and property acquisitions that investigators said were disproportionate to Nyakundi’s earnings.

EACC said its investigations established that Nyakundi and his associates acquired assets worth Sh771.89 million between January 2013 and March 2024.

The acquisitions included Sh467.76 million moved through bank accounts and M-Pesa, properties valued at Sh287.51 million, vehicles worth Sh20.06 million and Sh4.26 million in cash recovered from the defendants’ residences.

Yet Nyakundi’s gross monthly salary ranged from just Sh69,660 in 2013 to Sh115,630 in 2024, according to the commission.

EACC said the defendants could satisfactorily explain the acquisition of assets worth only Sh58.17 million.

The court consequently ordered forfeiture of Sh233.58 million in bank and M-Pesa funds, properties valued at Sh177.11 million, vehicles worth Sh11.9 million and Sh4.26 million in cash.

Among the transactions the court declared unexplained were Sh50.39 million through Nyakundi’s Co-operative Bank account, Sh16.32 million through his NCBA account and Sh27.76 million through his M-Pesa line.

Further transactions involved another M-Pesa line and several accounts belonging to Otwori, including Equity Bank and Equity Investment Bank accounts.

The property trail included Bantu Hotel and Resort Company Limited properties in Nairobi/Block 105, the Bantu Hotel along Kangundo Road valued at Sh107.7 million, the Saro Wiwa apartment block in Utawala valued at Sh35 million and a Mombasa penthouse valued at Sh19 million.

Several parcels of land in Kilifi and Thika were also covered by the forfeiture order.

Justice Musyoki directed banks and mobile-money service providers holding the identified funds to facilitate their transfer to the Government through EACC.

The Chief Lands Registrar and relevant land registrars were similarly directed to facilitate transfer of the forfeited properties, while the National Transport and Safety Authority was ordered to implement the orders relating to the vehicles.

Importantly, the judge noted that the proceedings did not require EACC to prove that the defendants had committed a specific criminal offence.

The court found that the statutory unexplained-assets procedure focuses on whether the property can be satisfactorily accounted for and lawfully acquired.

The judge also rejected the option of ordering the defendants to pay the value of the unexplained transactions separately after finding that much of the money had already been absorbed into properties and businesses that investigators had traced.

“I am minded to forfeit what has been traced rather than going for restitution,” Justice Musyoki said.

EACC welcomed the ruling, saying the recovery would contribute to efforts to protect public resources and prevent retention of assets whose lawful acquisition has not been satisfactorily demonstrated.

 Unending controversy stalking Nyakundi

Nyakundi, who also served as the Thika Land Registrar is not new to controversy.

In 2024, the senior Ministry of Lands official came under investigation by the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) after the anti-graft agency uncovered 106 properties, 17 vehicles and millions of shillings in cash and financial transactions it said were disproportionate to his known legitimate income.

Felix Mecha Nyakundi, who was then a Principal Land Registrar, became the subject of an EACC investigation over allegations of abuse of office, misappropriation of public funds and unexplained wealth.

The commission moved to court seeking orders to preserve the assets, arguing that there was a risk they could be sold, transferred or otherwise dealt with before investigations and potential recovery proceedings were completed.

Following search warrants, EACC officers searched Nyakundi’s home, business and office premises and recovered what the agency described as a significant number of land ownership documents, motor vehicle records and banking information.

They also recovered Sh4.6 million in cash from his residence.

The properties were spread across several counties, including Nairobi, Kilifi, Kisii, Kajiado, Makueni and Machakos.

EACC told the court that preliminary investigations indicated that the wealth was not commensurate with Nyakundi’s legitimate sources of income. The commission said preserving the assets was necessary to protect any eventual recovery process.

The case marked the beginning of a wider investigation into Nyakundi’s wealth, which later resulted in forfeiture proceedings involving his wife Stellah Nyaboke Otwori and companies associated with the family.

The High Court has subsequently ordered forfeiture of assets worth Sh426.85 million linked to the family after finding that the defendants had failed to satisfactorily explain their acquisition.