• In a series of tweets hours after the ruling, Gachagua accused justice Esther Maina of bias.
• The UDA presidential running mate has instructed his lawyers to immediately file an appeal in the Court of Appeal to stay the orders.
Image: PRESIDENTIAL DEBATE SECRETARIAT
UDA presidential running mate Rigathi Gachagua says he will appeal Thursday's court ruling that ordered him to forfeit Sh200 million to the State.
In a series of tweets hours after Thursday's ruling, Gachagua accused justice Esther Maina of bias and said he has instructed his lawyers to immediately move to the Court of Appeal to stay the orders.
"The judgment today by Justice Esther Maina, in my case against the Asset Recovery Agency, did not come as a surprise to me and my Lawyers. The Judge was biased against us from the word go and threw caution to the wind by conducting a sham trial," Gachagua said.
In her ruling at the Milimani law courts, justice Maina said she was satisfied that the funds in question are proceeds of crime and are subject for forfeiture to the State.
Gachagua had admitted to receiving the funds from government agencies and entities through the award of contracts.
But the court said Gachagua produced only a letter dated February 9, 2015 from a government ministry indicating Wamunyoro Investments Ltd had been awarded a tender.
The court also dismissed claims that the funds were in a fixed deposit account.
"There was an argument that the funds were in a fixed deposit account but that is not the position," the Judge said.
Gachagua read malice in the ruling questioning why it came just ten days to the August 9 general elections.
He termed the move a futile attempt to undermine his candidature and dent his performance in the running mates debate held last week.
"Against the rules of evidence, she refused our application to cross examine the Investigator in order to test the veracity of his allegations. She ruled that all evidence should be through affidavits and rejected oral evidence," Gachagua said.
The funds in question are held in four accounts at Rafiki Micro Finance Bank, three of which are under Gachagua's name.
A fourth account, holding Sh1,138,142, is registered in the name of Jenne Enterprises, Gachaguas's business associate.
The three accounts under Gachagua's name hold Sh165 million, Sh35 million and Sh773,228 respectfully.
Gachagua said the judge's refusal for his defence team to make oral submissions goes against known and accepted practice globally.
"She refused my request to call witnesses to testify on how I got my money. She has made a ruling relying solely on the allegations by the State without giving us an opportunity to put the allegations to test as per the known practice all over the world," Gachagua said.
He expressed optimism that the Appellate court will look favourably at his appeal stating "Freedom is Coming".