The fight against graft received a big boost on Wednesday when the High Court ordered a corruption suspect to pay the state back over Sh300 million.
Anti-corruption Judge Hedwig Ong’undi ordered former Nairobi county finance chief Jimmy Kiamba, to pay the government Sh317 million for unexplained assets.
She said the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission established on a balance of probability that the cash deposits which Kiamba tried to explain through his revenue collection, constituted unexplained assets and should be forfeited to the state.
“I am therefore convinced from the totality of the evidence that commission’s suspicion of corruption or economic crime having been committed by Kiamba was reasonable hence the investigation,” she said.
Ong’undi directed Kiamba pays the state Sh282,648,604 and a further sum of Sh35 million in default of which his property in Runda be forfeited to the government.
Kiamba had claimed that he got Sh21,971,810 as cattle revenue, Sh17,094,610 as wheat revenue, Sh12,478,430 as maize revenue.
He also cited Sh228,103 as transport and quarry revenue, Sh35 million landed property and Sh300,000 from Kwanga Mboya Advocates all totalling to Sh317,648,604.
But the court held that they constituted unexplained assets.
The Judge said there was no evidence to prove the huge sales of maize Kiamba made which earned him Sh12.4 million.
Kiamba had explained that he did not annex any lease agreement because he grew the maize on his father’s land hence did not require a lease.
