The Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) has filed an appeal to overturn a High Court ruling that allowed Wilson Nashon Kanani, a City Hall employee, to retain assets worth KES 643 million.
The EACC expressed its dissatisfaction with the decision, requesting the Court of Appeal to set it aside entirely. The agency had previously sought for the assets to be forfeited to the state.
The ruling, issued last Thursday by Justice Nixon Sifuna, lifted an order that had frozen the assets and funds in five bank accounts owned by Kanani and his wife.
The judge accepted the couple’s explanation regarding how they acquired the wealth, concluding that there was no evidence to suggest the assets were obtained through corrupt practices.
“The respondents have satisfactorily explained that the assets were acquired genuinely, and there is no evidence on record indicating Mr. Kanani engaged in corruption,” the judge stated.
The EACC had argued that Kanani, while in a public office, misappropriated revenue intended for Nairobi County by channeling it through accounts held by his and his wife’s private companies. The commission raised concerns about several unaccounted-for assets, which included land, vehicles, and significant sums of cash.
Among the assets under scrutiny are a Nairobi flat valued at KES 6.5 million, a house in Busia worth KES 11.2 million, and land in Naivasha valued at KES 3.5 million. Additionally, the EACC reported that Kanani acquired four high-end motor vehicles over five years: a Toyota Land Cruiser V8, a Mercedes Benz E 300, a Mercedes Benz E350, and a Toyota Alphard.
The commission also investigated Kanani’s bank accounts and found that between January 2016 and October 31, 2022, he received a total of KES 506 million in deposits.
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Despite these findings, Justice Sifuna pointed out that the only evidence linking Kanani to alleged corruption was a criminal conviction, which was later appealed and overturned.
The judge also disagreed with the EACC’s claim that Kanani’s salary was too low to justify his wealth. “A diligent public officer who invests his money will likely accumulate more assets than an executive who spends his otherwise large salary on leisure and indulgence,” the judge remarked.
In its appeal notice, the EACC emphasized that the ruling posed a significant setback in the fight against corruption. The commission warned that upholding the decision would establish a dangerous precedent that could reverse progress in recovering public funds and assets stolen by corrupt officials.
EACC spokesperson Eric Ngumbi described the judgment as a disturbance to the legal principles governing the recovery of stolen public assets.
“By disturbing the established legal principles and standards, the judgment potentially reverses the jurisprudential gains that Kenya has so far made in the recovery of public funds and assets stolen by corrupt public officials,” Ngumbi said.
