Properties obtained through corruption will be recovered and handed back to the government, the Assets Recovery Agency director Muthoni Kimani has said.
Kimani said on Saturday that no one will be spared in the recovery of public funds and assets amassed dubiously.
The recovery of corruptly sourced assets is part of the national fight against corruption and ARA is mandated to ensure that taxpayers' money lost through graft and other economic crimes are returned.
“The agency has so far recovered at least Sh4 billion among other assets from scandals unravelled at the National Youth Service and Youth Fund,” Kimani told a multi-agency training on corruption at Tom Mboya Labour College in Kisumu.
She said the recovered money and assets are believed to have been stolen from public coffers.
The ARA boss said they planned to start implementing a new policy that targets tightening of the recovery process.
“Corruption has become the greatest enemy to our country’s growth. We must double our efforts to deal with it,” Kimani said.
A Kenya Revenue Authority commissioner, James Mburu, asked authorities to collaborate in the war on corruption.
Mburu said lack of collaboration between agencies in the fight was a major challenge in dealing with corruption. He urged that the war be extended to counties to protect public resources that have been devolved.
The ARA recently sought court permission to seize five properties and three vehicles owned by members of the Ngirita family facing charges of defrauding the National Youth Service of millions of shillings.
The application was premised on DCI investigations into the theft and fraud of public funds amounting Sh467 million.
The agency asked the court to declare the motor vehicles and properties held by Phylis Ngirita, Lucy Ngirita and Jeremiah Ngirita as proceeds of crime and, thus, liable for forfeiture to the government.
The vehicles are a Toyota station wagon (KCH 753U) belonging to Phylis Njeri Ngirita and Opportunity international WEDCO limited; another Toyota station wagon (KCH 600H) registered to Lucy Wambui Ngirita and Platinum Credit Limited and a Toyota pick-up (KCH 889M) owned by Jeremiah Gichina Ngirita and Platinum Limited.
The properties are 0.70 hectares in Waitaluk in Kitale, registered in the name of Sylvia Ajiambo Ongoro. The agency says the land was sold to Ngirita on June 2, 2016. Another parcel is in Naivasha Town, sold to Ngirita by New Hope for All Nations on July 8, 2016. The other is a one-acre plot in Nakuru East acquired on April 25, 2017.
