Palatial homes, luxury SUVs to be seized from NYS suspects

President Uhuru Kenyatta presents a title deed to Jackson Mwangi at Jacarada Grounds in Nairobi's Eastlands, on Wednesday. [Beverlyne Musili, Standard]

The State has flagged several multi-million-shilling properties for repossession from several National Youth Service (NYS) scandal suspects should they be convicted of economic crimes.

The assets targeted include three houses in Nairobi’s Muthaiga estate, an affluent neighbourhood, 23 luxury vehicles, three barber shops in Thika, two apartments and three boutiques, which are all linked to a couple under investigation.

The cars include Mercedes-Benz, BMWs, Audis, Ranger Rovers, Toyota Land Cruisers and a Porsche Cayenne, which were seized from the merchant’s palatial home in Muthaiga. Others were recovered from a relative's home.

One of the boutiques operated by his wife is situated along Banda Street in the central business district, while the other two are in Thika town.

Upcoming malls

The businessman and his wife, who is also the director of a suspect firm and was recently blocked from travelling out of the country, are among the 54 individuals charged with the theft of Sh469 million.

A senior NYS official could also lose his property that includes two upcoming malls along the Eastern bypass and Kangundo Road in Nairobi. Also on the sleuths’ radar is a 2017 Range Rover worth Sh27 million belonging to a senior staff involved with the Integrated Financial Management Information System (Ifmis).

A house in Kitisuru linked to a senior Ministry of Public Service, Youth and Gender Affairs official as well as another house in Embu town and three vehicles have also been identified for recovery. The Embu house is currently occupied by a sitting governor.

A second senior NYS official owns three vehicles and a house in Muthaiga, which have also been flagged. Two vehicles belonging to a family that supplied the Naivasha and Gilgil NYS stations are also marked for repossession. The cars were moved into police custody on Monday.

Other than the property, the State has frozen all bank accounts through which the funds were wired. At least seven banks are under investigation for violating banking regulations.

The Assets and Recovery Agency (ARA), which was part of the multi-agency team pursuing the case, has been profiling the properties before moving to courts to get freezing orders.

Some of the suspects are said to have mysteriously withdrawn millions of shillings from their accounts. The audits started back in 2014 up to this year when the individuals are said to have gained from NYS.

A senior ARA officer described their operations as covert, saying they would cast the net wide to also nab those who may be used to hide the proceeds of crime as third-party registered property owners.

Yesterday, President Uhuru Kenyatta warned that the Government would spare no efforts to recover looted public resources. A tough-talking Uhuru said all resources and monies recovered will be redirected to the original development purposes they were intended for.

“There will be no mercy for the thieves. Their days are numbered. They will be prosecuted and jailed. We will ensure that the public property you own has been repossessed,” the president said yesterday when he launched the issuance of title deeds for Nairobi residents at Jacaranda Grounds in Nairobi.

Found guilty

To show its resolve to deal with the cases, lawyers known to represent the State were asked to keep off the trial. A senior lawyer who spoke on condition of anonymity revealed that they had received instruction from senior Government officials not to represent the NYS suspects.

Yesterday, 16 western diplomats led by Robert Godec and Nic Hailey supported the move to seize the suspects’ property.

“Individuals or organisations found guilty of stealing should be held accountable, including forfeiting the proceeds of their crimes. Kenyans need strong, reliable institutions and systems that reduce the opportunities for corruption," the envoys said in a joint statement. 

On Monday, Director of Public Prosecutions Noordin Haji confirmed that they would be going beyond prosecuting the suspects.

“In addition to prosecution, we are looking at recovering the proceeds of crimes and establishing the tax status of the companies and individuals.

“In the meantime, several bank accounts that the funds were channelled through have been frozen," said Haji.