The Court of Appeal has allowed the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) to proceed with a probe on how former Nairobi Governor Evans Kidero acquired his wealth.
The former county boss had gone to the Appellate Court after a Nairobi anti-corruption court in June dismissed his application seeking to bar investigations into the source of his and his wife Susan Mboya’s property and accounts.
The Kideros claimed the court ruling was biased against them and presumed them guilty of criminal activities when no such determination has been made against them.
However, Appellate Justices Roslyn Nambuye, Daniel Musinga, and Gatembu Kairu quashed the appeal saying investigations and filing of an asset recovery case had not started, meaning Kidero had not convinced them that barring the anti-graft watchdog from investigating his family’s wealth would be adverse.
“The applicant has failed to controvert the second respondent’s averments in their replying affidavit that pending completion of investigations, filing, prosecution, and conclusion of the criminal case(s) against the applicants and the filing of the asset recovery suit, which actions are yet to commence, is unlikely to be concluded before the appeal, which is already filed, heard and determined,” the court ruled.
In June, EACC claimed Kidero had assets worth Ksh9 billion and reasonable suspicion to believe that the former Governor was involved in graft.
Investigating officer, Mulki Abdi Umar, said Kidero also owns 11 vehicles that include Range Rovers and Mercedes Benzes. He said investigations revealed that Kidero also owns 50 rental units on Riara Road estimated at Ksh1 billion and another property – Muthaiga Heights – worth the same amount.
But Kidero claimed his properties are valued at Ksh645 million and not Ksh9 billion as alleged by the EACC.
