Rigathi Gachagua: I will appeal my Sh202m loss

Mathira MP Rigathi Gachagua. [George Njunge, Standard]

UDA deputy presidential candidate Rigathi Gachagua says he will appeal the High Court’s Thursday decision ordering him to forfeit Sh202 million to the State.

Gachagua said he has instructed his lawyers to file an appeal at the Court of Appeal to stay the order, claiming he wasn't accorded a fair hearing. 

High Court judge Esther Maina on Thursday, directed the Mathira MP to surrender over Sh200 million to the State for being proceeds of corruption.

The Judge ruled that Gachagua was unable to provide proof of how he raised the money.

Gachagua, however, claims Justice Maina was biased against him and did not conduct a fair trial.

“The judgement today in my case against the Assets Recovery Agency, did not come as a surprise to me and my lawyers. Justice Maina refused our application to cross-examine the investigator in order to test the veracity of his allegations,” Gachagua said on his official Facebook page.

The Mathira legislator further claimed that the judge "refused my request to call witnesses to testify on how I got the money".

Gachagua alleges that the ruling was politically motivated after posting a "sterling performance in the running mates debate on July 19".

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

According to ARA, 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 had Sh165 million, the second account also at Rafiki Micro Finance Bank has Sh35 million, the third account has Sh773,228 while the fourth account under the name of Jenne Enterprises has Sh1.1 million.