The High Court will today give directions in a case in which the
Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission has sued Kiambu Governor Kimani
Wamatangi, seeking to recover Sh813 million over alleged involvement in graft.
The commission accuses Wamatangi of having abused his position when he served as the chairman of the Senate Committee on Roads, Transport, and Housing with the agency claiming he used that position to influence the award of road construction tenders to companies associated with him.
Wamatangi served as Kiambu senator between 2013 and 2022 before he was elected the county governor.
Justice Lucy Njuguna of the High Court in Nairobi on Tuesday directed the EACC to serve all the parties ahead of today’s mention for directions.
EACC wants the court to issues orders freezing funds in Wamatangi’s bank accounts pending the hearing and determination of the matter.
Wamatangi’s lawyers have, however, expressed their intention to oppose the application.
Elsewhere, a magistrate will today rule on whether lawyer Chacha Mwita will be held in police custody for 20 days pending investigations into alleged terror-related activities.
Mwita, who was arrested on Friday in Mombasa, was presented before the Kahawa law courts where senior principal magistrate Gideon Kiage was asked to detain the suspect for 20 more days.
Officers from the Anti-Terror Police Unit’s (ATPU) sought the extended detention so they can complete their investigations.
Chacha Mwita was held pending the ruling.
Police allege that Mwita, a veteran lawyer known for defending terror suspects, used multiple mobile numbers and Binance cryptocurrency accounts to receive funds linked to extremist activities both locally and internationally.
Investigators say his alleged involvement stems from earlier
cases representing radicalised youths and that some legal fees may have been
connected to extremist financiers.
Authorities claim the investigation has uncovered a wider
network, including 10 recruits previously detained while preparing to travel
abroad for militant missions.
The probe reportedly spans neighbouring countries and
involves tracking financial transactions, hotel bookings, cross-border travel
and cryptocurrency transfers.
Mwita’s lawyers, led by Mbugua Mureithi, opposed the
application, arguing that the state was only keen on intimidating the lawyer.
