A state official under investigation has said half a billion shillings found in his 22 bank accounts are not kickbacks and bribery from road contractors.
Benson Musila Muteti claims to have amassed his fortune through the ownership of enterprises including taverns, hardware stores, and schools, some of which he purchased before joining the Kenya Rural Roads Agency (KERRA) in the 1990s.
Mr. Muteti is accused of receiving payments from contractors and allocating State deals to a company linked to his brother by the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC).
Between February 2009 and December 2018, various deposits were made into Mr. Muteti’s 19 KCB bank accounts, as well as one each at Cooperative Bank, NBK, and Absa Bank, according to the EACC.
On Wednesday, however, Mr. Muteti told High Court judge Esther Maina that the EACC had not singled out any of his properties as having been acquired through corruption.
“There is no complaint of corruption against him. What is the justification for the applicant (EACC) to freeze and seek to recover property acquired before the period under investigation,” he told the court.
Although investigations were ongoing, Mr. Muteti said he should not be denied access to his property out of suspicion.
He pleaded with the court to lift the order freezing the assets.
Mr Musila and his wife are accused of acquiring properties through corrupt practices.
The duo owns; seven apartments, eight commercial and residential plots, two schools (Mumbe Junior Academy and Mumbe Girls High School), Sh2.24 million in shares, four vehicles, and a hardware shop for Sh41 million.
On January 27, Justice Maina will determine whether or not to lift the restraining order.
