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The Sh200 million belonging to Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua that was forfeited by the state last year will be refunded.
Gachagua through his counsel Kioko Kilukumi and the Asset Recovery Agency reached an agreement to settle the matter after the emergence of new evidence proving the funds were not proceeds of corruption.
The Court of Appeal has today adopted the settlement and vacated orders of the High Court that had declared the funds to be proceeds of crime.
Justice Esther Maina had in June last year found the money to be proceeds of corruption.
At the time, Gachagua was Mathira MP.
Gachagua’s three accounts at Micro-Finance Bank were holding Sh165 million, Sh35 million and Sh773,228.
This totalled to Sh200million.
A fourth bank account in the name of Jenne Enterprises held Sh1,138,142.
Ann Kimemia who trades as Jenne Enterprises is Gachagua’s business associate.
Justice Maina in her finding said no evidence was produced to substantiate the claims.
“There was nothing to show he performed any contract. He only produced a letter dated February 9 2015, from a ministry indicating Wamunyoro had been awarded a tender. He was required to execute a contract. Nothing to show tender was executed,” the Judge said.
Gachagua's defence was that the monies came from loans and government tenders.
He also said that he was being persecuted for being a close ally of then Deputy President William Ruto.
Immediately after the High Court’s decision, Gachagua filed an appeal on August 3 at the appellate court.
He asked the court to overturn Justice Maina’s decision on grounds that she made a mistake in finding that he did not produce evidence to prove the source of funds.
Months later, the Assets Recovery Agency filed an application in support of Gachagua’s appeal.
They were in support of the funds being refunded to Gachagua following the emergence of new evidence proving that the funds in dispute were not proceeds of crime.
They said the new evidence was not placed before the High Court at the time to make a sound determination.
The agency said the new evidence satisfactorily explains the source and legitimacy of the funds in issue and it is satisfied that the same is not proceeds of crime was initially perceived.
It is this that has led the two to amicably settle the appeal. The judgement and the decision of Justice Maina now has no effect after the same was set aside.
The appeal has now been marked as settled after the settlement between the two was adopted by the Court of Appeal.
During the pendency of the case, the agency had told Justice Maina that in March 2020, they received information on a suspected case of money laundering involving public funds from different national government ministries.
They included the Ministry of Land (Kenya Informal Settlements Programme), the State Department for Special Planning, the Ministry of Health, the National Irrigation Board, the Mathira Constituency Development Fund, and several county governments including the Bungoma, Nyeri and Kwale.
Four months later, ARA conducted further investigations on its own motion and sought information from five entities which Gachagua claimed to have obtained the funds in dispute from.
The entities are Kenya Tsetse and Trypanosomiasis Eradication Council (KENTEC previously known as PATTEC), State Department for ASALs and regional development, the Kenya Power and Lightning Company, the state department for lands and physical planning and the Bungoma county government.
The entities were asked to confirm whether the contracted companies associated with the DP provided various services and whether they received value for money.
The entities subsequently confirmed the contracts were done above board and that there were no complaints or defaults raised or issued against the contractor.
It's on that basis that the Agency has supported Gachagua's appeal and wants the money declared as 'proceeds of crime' to be released to him.
