A Nairobi City Hall officer has been ordered to pay Sh198 million in costs after a court found his wealth to be unaccounted for.
This decision marks a significant win for the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC).
In May 2023, the High Court froze the assets of Michael Auka Ajwang, a Purchasing Officer for Nairobi County, due to his inability to justify the source of his unexplained wealth.
Ajwang’s assets include ten vehicles and nine parcels of land in Siaya and Kisumu counties. One of the parcels contains a high-end hotel.
Deputy Registrar Adelaide Sisenda ordered Ajwang to pay Sh22 million for a parcel of land in Siaya within 30 days.
Additionally, he must pay Sh176 million for the high-end hotel within 12 months. If he fails to make these payments, the court has ordered that 0.19 hectares of the hotel’s land in Kisumu be seized and that the EACC is authorized to take further legal action to recover the amounts owed.
The court’s ruling also permits the EACC to seize Sh799,000 that was previously confiscated from Ajwang.
According to the EACC, Ajwang amassed Sh537 million in unexplained wealth between January 2014 and June 2022, while his known legitimate income during that time was only Sh2.12 million.
The frozen assets include a three-star hotel on Kisumu-Bondo Road and ten luxury vehicles.
The EACC had sought to forfeit these assets to the government, arguing they were the proceeds of corruption and economic crime. Some assets were also linked to his wife and associated companies.
The case, which began in August 2022, was prompted by reports of Ajwang’s wealth and lifestyle exceeding his known income sources.
Investigations revealed that he received large sums of money from companies awarded tenders by the Nairobi City County Government.
Ajwang is currently recovering from a mild stroke that occurred after the investigation began.
