- But company that loaned Ngirita Sh800,000 urged the court not to issue order
- Justice Ngugi set ruling date after parties in case made their submissions on Wednesday
Image: FILE
The court will on May 6 rule on whether it will allow NYS graft suspect Phylis Ngirita to withdraw Sh700,000 from her frozen KCB account to allegedly pay school fees for her son.
Justice Mumbi Ngugi set the date after parties in the case made their submissions on Wednesday.
Phyllis is among four members of the Ngirita family facing criminal charges over theft of millions of shillings from NYS.
Through lawyer Evans Ondieki, Ngirita told the court that the freezing of her Kenya Commercial Bank account had caused undue hardship to her family and paralysed the education of her children.
“My son has been unable to attend school because of the outstanding school fees. I am not engaged in any meaningful employment hence necessitating this application and allowing the withdrawal of school fees will not in any way prejudice any party in the case,” she said.
She claimed that well-wishers had tried to assist her to raise the school fees but it was not sufficient.
The accused said the money in the KCB account had no link with the corruption case she was facing because it was a loan she took from Opportunity International to pay school fees.
She said the court should prioritise the best interest of the child in dealing with her application.
But a company that loaned Ngirita Sh800,000 urged the court not to issue the order.
In an affidavit, collections manager at Opportunity Kenya Limited Wycliffe Kiprono urged court to dismiss the application by Ngirita as abuse of the court process. Kiprono said Ngirita had approached court with unclean hands.
According to court documents, the institution advanced her Sh800,000 on the strength of a motor vehicle registered in her name as security. The vehicle subsequently became the subject of forfeiture proceedings.
“Ngirita ought not to be allowed to benefit from the proceeds of a loan advanced by us on account of a security that may eventually be pronounced as one emanating from proceeds of crime,” Kiprono said.
“To allow Phyllis to benefit from the proceeds of the monies in the said KCB account ostensibly to pay school fees for her child would defeat the very purpose of the enactment of Proceeds of Crime and Anti-Money Laundering Act."
The said loan approved by them was deposited in Ngirita’s bank account held at KCB which had since been frozen by an order of the High court
The Director of Public Prosecutions also opposed issuance of the orders.