The Anti-Corruption High Court has frozen the assets of a City Hall employee worth Sh 537 million in unaccounted-for wealth.
Justice Esther Maina issued orders freezing Michael Auka Ajwang’s multi-million shillings property, which he owns as a junior procurement employee earning Sh21,000 each month.
The Judge granted an application by the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission to preserve the assets of Anjwag and his enterprise, the Hydeout Riviera limited, including 11 vehicles, nine parcels of property, and a 3-Star hotel in Kisumu County, on the grounds that they were obtained corruptly.
In applying for the orders, the EACC informed Justice Maina that Anjwag is suspected of major corruption at city hall.
Among the properties is a high-end property in Kisumu County.
“A temporary injunction is issued restraining Anjwag, his agents or servants from transferring, disposing of the said properties in any way,” Justice Maina ordered.
Further, She further barred the county employee from demanding back Sh799,000 recovered by EACC detectives during a raid at his house in 2022.
Anti-corruption detectives informed the court that preliminary investigations revealed that Ajwang, 45, received Sh 40.8 million in bribes from different companies awarded tenders by the County Government of Nairobi.
Ajwang, as per the lawsuit by the EACC, has been listed as the first respondent while a company called Riviera Limited has been listed as the second respondent. It is alleged in court that the company is owned by Ajwang’s wife.
Some of the assets were tracked back to his spouse’s firms, according to the commission.
“He earns a net monthly salary of Sh21,000 on average.” During the inquiry period (January 2014 to June 2022), he earned a net salary of Sh2,122,232.56. “Preliminary investigations revealed that Anjwag received monies suspected of being bribed from entities awarded tenders by Nairobi City County,” the commission says.
The high-end hotel is located in Kisumu County, whereas Anjwag owns nine parcels of land in Siaya, Kisumu, and Nairobi counties, as well as eleven corruptly obtained automobiles.
