Agencies disagree on Gethi’s wealth

The Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) now says that the alleged “dirty” wealth acquired by Charity Wangui Gethi, mother to corruption suspect Ben Gethi, using Sh791 million allegedly stolen from the National Youth Service (NYS) nine years ago is legitimate.

Documents filed before the High Court Anti-Corruption Division reveal that the DCI and the Asset Recovery Agency (ARA) have sharply differed over allegations that the wealth was acquired from proceeds of crime.

The ARA, however maintains that the multi-million shilling assets acquired by Wangui and her daughter Jedidah Wangari are proceeds of crime and should be surrendered to the State.

The DCI’s findings however indicate that the properties in question were acquired from money rightfully paid by NYS for services rendered by a company associated with Wangui’s son Ben.

The wealth at the centre of the dispute include five prime assets suspected to have been bought using funds siphoned from the government-owned youth training institution in 2014 during former President Uhuru Kenyatta’s first term.

ARA filed a forfeiture suit in March 2016 seeking orders to seize the properties in Nairobi’s Muthaiga North and Rosslyn estates, a land parcel in Thika, Eden Times Restaurant situated on the ground floor or Mercury building along Moi Avenue Nairobi and Range Rover Vogue KCB 750Z.

According to court papers filed by Wangui as new evidence to stop the intended forfeiture, the DCI investigators found that the properties were acquired using funds lawfully paid by NYS to Horizon Ltd, a company owned by Ben, after a legitimate business.

Targeted properties

The properties that ARA is targeting are valued at Sh291,513,000 and it wants them surrendered to government as it believes they are proceeds of crime.

Rosslyn estate is worth Sh63,513,000, the land in Thika Sh35 million, Eden Times Restaurant Sh20 million, Nairobi’s Muthaiga North plot Sh45 million and funds held at her Faulu (Old Mutual) account Sh128 million.  The properties are registered in the names of Wangui, her daughter Wangari, John Kago Ndung’u and a lawyer, Patrick Onyango Ogolla. All the properties were purchased by Kago with funds received from Wangui, court papers indicate.

In an affidavit, Wangui said she was a beneficiary of monies paid by NYS to Horizon Ltd and that she used the funds to purchase the properties in question. Her son Gethi is also a suspect in the NYS corruption scandal and he is battling a separate court case. Wangui and her daughter yesterday fought attempts by ARA to recover the wealth and filed fresh evidence in court in a bid to prove that the wealth is legit.

They also sought to have the DCI officer summoned in court for cross-examination on the new evidence but Justice Esther Maina rejected the request and fixed the matter for judgment on March 25, 2023.

The basis of their fight to save the properties is a finding by the DCI that the money used by Wangui to purchase the assets was obtained from Horizon Limited, after doing business with NYS.

Another finding

She said the DCI found that “services were rendered by Horizon Limited and payments were rightful.”

She said another finding was that she was a beneficiary of the funds paid to the company as reflected in bank statements checked by investigators and that taxes due to the Kenya Revenue Authority were remitted on the amounts received by Horizon Limited.

The said investigations involved transactions between the company and NYS in 2014 in which the firm was awarded a tender to supply diesel and was paid Sh245,279,765.

“Investigations by DCI aimed to establish whether the tender award to Horizon Limited was regular, whether the company made the supply and whether the payment to it was lawful,” said Wangui in her court papers.

She said that she learned about the DCI’s findings in October last year after enquiring on the outcome of the investigation exercise.

The DCI’s finding was also captured in a letter dated May 8, 2017 to the DPP following investigation in the scandal.

Together with her son Gethi and George Kuvika, both of whom are directors of the company, were named as persons of interest in the investigation.