The High Court on Wednesday ordered former Nairobi Finance boss Jimmy Kiamba to pay the government Sh282 million in unexplained assets.
Anti-corruption court judge Hedwig Ong’undi also directed that Kiamba pay Sh35 million to the state, and in default, his Runda property will be forfeited.
This is a welcome and important development in the fight against corruption, especially because suspects have previously been charged but have gotten away with stolen money.
The decision will not only energise the fight against corruption but will also deter those hoping to steal from public coffers.
The EACC has also recovered Sh2.7 billion assets over four months from corrupt individuals through alternative dispute resolutions, a significant improvement on the last five years.
This is a new strategy the commission has employed and should be supported because it’s cheaper, faster and more effective.
Asset recovery returns stolen property to the rightful owner, who happens to be the public.
There should be no safe haven for those who steal from anyone. Recovering the stolen money and assets will be key to funding social programmes and putting corrupt leaders on notice that they will not escape the law.
Quote of the Day: “Advice is like snow; the softer it falls the longer it dwells upon, and the deeper it sinks into the mind.”
Samuel Taylor Coleridge
The English poet and co-founder of the Romantic Movement in England died on July 25, 1834.