Court says Wilson Nashon Kanani (insert), a Nairobi County employee and co-director of popular club, 1824, has satisfactorily explained how they acquired the assets and funds.
The High Court has dismissed a case by the anti-graft agency seeking to confiscate over Sh643 million in assets and funds belonging to a Nairobi County employee and co-director of popular club, 1824, on Lang'ata Road.
Justice Nixon Sifuna said Mr Wilson Nashon Kanani and his wife had satisfactorily explained how they acquired the assets and funds.
In setting aside an order freezing the assets and funds in five bank accounts, the judge said the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) had failed to prove that Mr Kanani had acquired them corruptly.
“I find that the respondents have satisfactorily explained that the assets were acquired genuinely as there is no evidence on record that he (Mr Kanani) is corrupt or engaged on corruption or were acquired through corruption. The explanation and evidence tabled in court is satisfactory,” said the judge.
The EACC said Mr Kanani, the development control officer at Nairobi City County, had acquired assets worth millions of shillings, which did not correspond to his gross monthly salary of Sh85,630.
His duties include regulating outdoor advertising, monitoring and supervising all outdoor advertising and calling advertisers to comply with permits and payments for advertisements.
The EACC said Mr Kanani abused his position of trust by receiving revenue meant for the Nairobi County Government through bank accounts held by his private companies and his spouse.
The anti-graft agency said it had completed investigations and found that Mr Kanani and his companies were in possession of unexplained assets amounting to Sh643.2 million. The assets include land, motor vehicles, cash and cash deposits. The assets include a flat in Nairobi worth Sh6.5 million, a house in Busia worth Sh11.2 million and land in Naivasha worth Sh3.5 million. But the judge pointed out that the only evidence linking Mr Kanani to the alleged corruption was a criminal case in which he was convicted, but he appealed the decision and the sentence was overturned.
The judge said the EACC's position that his salary was too low to justify the assets and funds in his accounts was a wrong yardstick.
Justice Sifuna said he begged to differ that a person's wealth should only be pegged to his or her salary because there are ways of earning income away from a pay slip.
“A keen public officer who invests his money will have more assets than an executive who spends his otherwise humongous salary on leisure and sin,” said the Judge.
The EACC said Mr Kanani acquired four high-end motor vehicles -- Toyota Land cruiser V8, Mercedes Benz E 300, Mercedes Benz E350 and Toyota Alphard -- in a span of five years.
The anti-graft body further said it investigated his five bank accounts and found that he received cumulative deposits of Sh506 million between January 2016 and October 31, 2022.
Justice Sifuna said Mr Kanani and his wife supplied the court with statements showing how they acquired the properties.
The judge added that the wife was only joined in the case because of her tie, if for nothing else. He said there no evidence of wrongdoing on her part and that trying to crucify a spouse because of their marriage was "rather ridiculous, oppressive and offensive".
