Court freezes Sh62mn worth of assets belonging to transport ministry deputy director in graft probe

NAIROBI, Kenya, Dec 30 – The Ethics and Anti Corruption Commission (EACC) has obtained orders to freeze assets worth Sh62 million belonging to Ministry of Transport senior deputy director David Kinyae Isika in a corruption probe.



Kinyae is a director supply chain management and a number of assets and companies he owns are affected by the order.



The assets include six parcels of land valued at Sh26.3 million and six motor vehicles valued at Sh29.6 million.



Others comprise Sh4.9 million in a bank account belonging to a company associated with the official and Sh1.5 million in cash.



The money was seized by Ethnics and Anti Corruption Commission who executed a search warrant at his residence. It was in denominations of Sh1,000. 



The orders come in an ongoing recovery suit of suspected unexplained wealth, belonging to the official, amounting to Sh186 million.



EACC further wants the High Court to order the official to pay the difference of Sh123.8 million to the government.



During the period of interest, January 2014 and June 2021, the Kinyae earned a total net salary of Sh5.9 million but acquired wealth amounting to Sh186 million which he could not explain.



EACC says it reasonably suspected him of corruption and economic crimes, and undertook investigations.



The orders, issued by anti corruption judge Justice Esther Maina on December 20, 2022, will be in force until the case is fully heard and determined.



Earlier in the year, the court had issued a temporary injunction preserving the assets for six months to allow completion of investigations by EACC.



The investigations have since been completed and a suit filed seeking recovery of the entire Sh186 million from Kinyae, his son Bruce and companies owned by the family.



EACC commenced investigations in this matter following receipt of credible information that Kinyae Isika, a Senior Deputy Director, Supply Chain Management in the Ministry of Transport, Infrastructure, Housing, Urban Development and Public Works had engaged in corrupt conduct leading to acquisition of assets beyond his known legitimate sources of income.



The investigations sought to establish whether there were reasonable grounds to suspect that the said official was engaging in corruption and economic crimes as alleged and further, whether he had acquired and/or accumulated assets that were disproportionate to his known legitimate source(s) of income irrespective of whether the suspect assets were held by himself or other parties. EACC says investigations established that between year January 2014 and June 2021 the said official would directly and indirectly acquire private interest through his close associates by trading and irregularly participating in irregular tender processes within the Ministry, in direct conflict of interest to his position as a senior supply chain management officer.



And in the process, together with his associates, accumulated unexplained assets valued at Sh186 million that could not possibly have been acquired using his known legitimate sources of income. Investigations further established a scheme to conceal the unexplained assets through family members, business fronts and corporate entities.



EACC said between January 2014 and June 2021 while working as a Supply Chain Management Officer, Kinyae abused his position of trust by participating the award of tenders to companies associated with him.



During this period companies owned by his immediate family members received public funds amounting to Sh233 million.



Investigations established that Kinyae used his office to confer benefit to himself through awarding several tenders to companies owned by his son, wife and himself.



He further failed to declare conflict of interest.



Records obtained from Registrar of Companies showed that during the period of investigations, Kinyae was a director of their company while his wife Eunice Wangari and his son Bruce Isika Kinyae were the directors of two others respectively.



Capital News