KeRRA accountant in Sh21 million frozen dowry account case to know fate in November

The Kenya Rural Roads Authority (KeRRA) accountant whose Sh21 million "dowry money" has been frozen will know his fate on November 9, 2023, when the High Court rules on whether he can access it.

Justice Nixon Sifuna had been urged to unfreeze the accounts so that Daniel Munywoki Wambua could pay his dowry on Mashujaa Day.

"I urge this court to unfreeze the accounts of Wambua to enable him pay dowry on Mashujaa Day to make him a hero," lawyer Danstan Omari urged the court, asking the judge to set aside the orders that had put Wambua in "great hardship as he cannot pay his dowry."

Mr Omari said the Ethics and Anti- Corruption Commission (EACC) did not tell the court that the name of the frozen account was 'Daniel Wambua Dowry Payment Account'.

Justice Sifuna was told that the dowry account was a savings account.

Mr Omari said the account was opened on March 2, 2023 and was supposed to be active for four months.

The judge heard that the source of the money was disclosed as donations from 957 friends for the payment of the dowry, with the largest amount received being Sh200,000.

The lawyer said there was a committee to organise the payment of the dowry chaired by James Kivuva, with Florence Lau Mbuvi as the treasurer.

The judge was informed that the dowry budget was Sh20,290,750 and at the time the dowry collection account was frozen, Sh21 million had been collected.

"Wambua is a popular person given the number of contributors to the dowry [fund]," Mr Omari said.

The lawyer said Wambua had a salary account and a fixed income account containing Sh5 million, both of which were also frozen. Interest from the fixed income account is usually transferred to the salary account. Wambua is also a farmer and all proceeds from the sale of agricultural produce are paid into these bank accounts.

His lawyer also argued that Wambua's salary is Sh170,000 and not Sh55,000 as previously reported by the EACC.

The judge also heard that Wambua was suspended from work after he applied to have the freezing orders lifted.

His lawyer claims that people jealous of Wambua are using the EACC to torture and ridicule him.

But the EACC vehemently opposed the application to unfreeze Wambua's three accounts at Equity Bank, saying the freezing of the accounts was "justified".

The EACC told Justice Sifuna that it suspected Wambua was involved in corrupt dealings as it had discovered that one of the accounts contained an unexplained Sh15 million.

The anti-graft body also said it had discovered that Mr Wambua, an accountant at KeRRA, had several accounts in different banks and that the sources of the funds were suspect, yet the accounts had received large amounts of money.

The EACC is investigating Wambua for corruption, abuse of office and involvement in unethical dealings.

The judge heard that one Mr James Kivuva once deposited Sh1.9 million into Wambua's account and it is suspected that Mr Kivuva is Wambua's proxy.

The court further heard that Wambua conducted the dowry payment ceremony on August 4 and 5, 2023 and that EACC obtained the freezing orders on August 10, 2023 and served them on Equity Bank Limited.

"The current application is an afterthought since the orders were obtained long after the dowry ceremony was conducted," EACC argued, urging the judge not to grant the orders to unfreeze the accounts.

Justice Sifuna extended the freeze orders to November 9, 2023, when he will make a ruling.

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