Corruption: Court orders Rigathi Gachagua to surrender Sh202m

Mathira Member of Parliament Rigathi Gachagua. [File, Standard]

The Anti-Corruption Court has ordered Mathira MP Rigathi Gachagua, who is the UDA deputy presidential candidate, to forfeit Sh202 million for being proceeds of corruption.

Justice Esther Maina ruled on Thursday, July 28 that the lawmaker could not prove how he raised the money.

The judge said despite Gachagua saying that he got the funds by supplying goods and services to the Government of Kenya in the past, he did not table any proof.

Justice Maina further stated that the UDA deputy presidential candidate failed to disclose the nature of goods or services that he supplied to the Government of Kenya.

The judge also said Rigathi Gachagua did not provide a copy of the contract showing that he and the State were in a contractual agreement.

In June 2020, the court ordered that the legislator’s Sh202 million be frozen as investigations into the acquisition of the funds continued.

The case emanated from the Assets Recovery Authority which held that Gachagua’s three personal accounts conducted a series of huge suspicious debit transactions amounting to Sh7.3 billion and a total credit of Sh12.5 billion between 2013 and 2020 which they believe were proceeds of crime.

Out of the huge bank transactions, the agency claimed the MP and his business associate Anne Kimemia, trading as Jenne Enterprises Ltd, cannot explain how they acquired the Sh202 million which should be forfeited to the state.

One of the accounts registered in Gachagua’s name at Rafiki Micro Finance Bank has Sh165 million, the second account also at Rafiki Micro Finance Bank held Sh35 million, the third account had Sh773,228 while the fourth account under the name of Jenne Enterprises hadSh1.1 million.