Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua says he is not concerned about his Ksh.200 million that was seized by the state.
In a ruling in July of this year, Milimani law courts judge Esther Maina said she was satisfied that the funds were proceeds of crime.
The High Court ruled that Gachagua failed to demonstrate how he obtained the funds. The DP had admitted to receiving the money from government agencies and entities through the award of contracts.
The court noted that Gachagua did not prove he executed the contract in order to obtain the funds.
“Indeed he admitted he received from government agencies ….there was nothing to show of the contract has had been awarded a tender by that ministry…,” the court observed.
“There was an argument that the funds were in a fixed deposit account but that is not the position,” the Judge added.
Following the ruling, Gachagua said he would appeal and accused Justice Maina of bias.
“The judgement today by Justice Esther Maina, in my case against the Asset Recovery Agency, did not come as a surprise to me and my lawyers. The Judge was biased against us from the word go and threw caution to the wind by conducting a sham trial,” the lawmaker claimed.
Speaking about the case in a TV interview that aired on Sunday, Gachagua said he is prepared for whatever outcome.
“Hiyo maneno iko kortini, tuko korti ya rufaa, na mimi sishughulikii, mawakili wangu wanapambana kortini na ninajua tutapata haki siku moja. Mimi sishuguliki na hiyo maneno, si mimi ni deputy president niko na mshahara… niko sawa, sasa hiyo mawakili wapambane pole pole,” the DP said.
Gachagua attached little value to the money, saying: “Kama watanirudishia nitashukuru, kama wataninyanganya, nitashukuru pia… unajua hata nikikuja dunia hii, sikuwa hata na shilingi moja, nikitoka dunia hii, sitaenda hata na shilingi moja.”
The former Mathira MP also mentioned that the case was a ploy by the government to punish Ruto allies.
“Wanafikiria mali ni kitu ya maana sana, wakikunyang’anya mali utawapigia magoti, hao hapana mungu… mali si kitu, watu ndio wanaishi..” he added.
