The Appeals Court on Monday dismissed an application seeking to have an order requiring Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua to forfeit Sh200 million to the State suspended.
In July, High Court judge Esther Maina ruled that the monies, which are held in Gachagua’s accounts with Rafiki Microfinance Bank, were proceeds of crime and ordered the deputy president to forfeit the money to the government.
The judge said Gachagua failed to explain and prove how he obtained the funds from government agencies. She noted that there was no evidence that Gachagua executed the contract in order to obtain the funds.
Rafiki Microfinance Bank filed an application at the Court of Appeal seeking to suspend the implementation of those orders, pending an intended appeal. The microfinance argued that the money in question is a security that guaranteed several loan facilities.
The bank told the court that the Asset Recovery Agency has been demanding the money and even threatened to institute contempt proceedings.
On Monday, the Appeals Court dismissed the bank’s application saying it was made in disregard of Section 92 (6) of the Proceeds of Crime and Anti-Money Laundering Act.
“In view of the foregoing, we reach the inescapable conclusion that the applicant’s motion is unwarranted, having been made in disregard of section 92(6) of the Act which, in our view, provides statutory safeguards pending appeal,” the judges said.
Return all the money to…
Return all the money to gachagua ndio apike mchele na nyama for watu wa kijiji yake. Kenyan voted for this thief, so let them feel it.