- The 47-year-old man said he has worked in City Hall for 23 years. He hoped to quit once he hits 50.
- Ajwang’ dismissed questions about his earnings, asserting that the commission was fed with wrong information.
Image: CHARLENE MALWA
A City Hall official whose properties have been frozen by EACC has denied any wrongdoing, claiming it's all work of jealousy.
Michael Arwa Ajwang’ spoke to the Star on Thursday, saying he is a victim of a witchhunt by unnamed persons.
“It could be from work or business. Or perhaps some politician from the village is not happy. I think someone is not happy with my progress,” he said.
Ajwang’ works as a supply chain expert working in the procurement section of the environment and planning department of the county.
The man from Reru area in Seme, Kisumu says his role was not seconded to the Nairobi Metropolitan Services when the entity got created three years ago.
The 47-year-old man said he has worked in City Hall for 23 years. He hoped to quit once he hits 50.
The Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission said last week that it had obtained orders from an anti-corruption court freezing properties linked to an alleged Sh40 million bribe it claims the officer received.
The commission alleges that the officer reportedly received bribes for tender deals from 2014 totalling Sh40 million which he allegedly used to purchase several properties.
The properties include nine prime plots and 11 motor vehicles.
The properties are strewn in Kisumu and Siaya.
The commission said Ajwang’ had earned a total salary of Sh2.1 million from 2014 and all he had accumulated could not be afforded with the sum.
Image: CHARLENE MALWA
“Among the nine properties targeted for forfeiture to the state, if confirmed to have been acquired from proceeds of corruption, is a high-end three-star hotel called The Hydeout Riviera Limited along Kisumu-Bondo road,” EACC said in a statement.
But speaking to the Star, Ajwang’ says he was being targeted by people he could not name for harassment and that he can account for every property he has acquired over the years.
He says the hotel in quest sits on an ancestral land whose title deed he is yet to process.
The motor vehicles he has were acquired through loans that he is still servicing, he said.
“Almost all the vehicles, truck and vans in question are still owned or co-owned by the banks because I got them through credit facilities. I don’t even have their log books," he said.
Ajwang’ dismissed questions about his earnings, asserting that the commission was fed with wrong information.
A copy of his pay slip he showed to the Star indicated that his gross monthly earnings are in the upward of Sh120,000 and a net of about Sh53,000.
He says most of the parcels of land in question were spread in village and remote areas and could not be prime as stated by the anti-graft agency.
“Some of those lands are worth Sh150,000, Sh250,000 or Sh300,000. Are you telling me that after working in the county for 23 years I should not own land worth Sh300,000?” he asked.
He says the hotel Hydeout is not high-end and was developed by his father and he only improved it.
He said he owns a model farm and a fruit farm in his rural home.
He asserts that all the properties he has were legitimate not proceeds of crime.
"I have never taken a bribe. What I have with my spouse are from sweat and toil in our business and formal work," he said.
He said his wife manages a bakery business which they have sustained with credit facilities.
He says that while the investigation proceeded, he was not told about it and he only had contact with the sleuths once his rural home was raided on June 17.
"My concern is that my face was plastered all over the social media and mainstream platforms without the facts getting verified. It is very unfair," he said.
(Edited by Tabnacha O)
Image: CHARLENE MALWA