A junior Kenya Rural Roads Authority (KERRA) staff whose accounts were frozen wants the court to release his frozen Sh21 million claiming the money was intended for his fiancée’s dowry.
Daniel Wambua petitioned the court to have the funds unfrozen so that he can pay a dowry for his future wife.
Wambua claims, through his lawyer Danstan Omari, the Ethics and Anti Corruption Commission (EACC) incorrectly tagged his account, which was set up specifically for dowry payments and to which his family and friends had contributed.
He claims that he is required by tradition to fulfill his dowry payment promise and has yet to do so despite the celebration because of the respondent’s false implication that the dowry payment account is a product of corruption.
“Unless this honorable court intervenes and hears the applicant on merit, there is a likelihood that the Applicant’s rights under Article 45, 50 of the Constitution of Kenya, 2010 will be limited to his grave prejudice,” he says in court documents.
Wambua said there are no reasonable grounds to suspect his assets, adding that he can defend how he acquired them legally.
“The amount in the Daniel Wambua Dowry Payment Account number 0840184059257 was specifically to collect funds from friends and well-wishes for Dowry payment for my intended marriage to my wife of choice.”
He also said he is well-known in his community, which is why he received that much money as a contribution towards his dowry payment.
He has also attached the Whatsapp group with the contribution lists, which show how much each person contributed to the wedding.
According to Wambua, the court’s orders forced him to stop the dowry ceremony without any justification, which embarrassed him in front of his future in-laws.
He has also refuted the EACC’s claim that he receives a monthly salary of Sh55,000 by presenting his most recent payslip in court, which claims that he gets Sh170,000.
EACC obtained High Court orders last Thursday freezing over Sh21 million held in three bank accounts held by Wambua.
Wambua, a junior Accountant KeRRA), is said to have amassed a total of Sh21,189,125 in four months.
The commission is investigating allegations that Munywoki accumulated this wealth, which it says is way beyond his known legitimate sources of income, through corrupt dealings.
EACC accuses the employee of engaging in embezzlement of public funds, conflict of interest, bribery, and abuse of office.
It told the court it believes that the said amount is illicit wealth and hence wants it preserved for six months pending investigations, to prevent it from being transferred, withdrawn, or disposed of…
In suit papers filed at the High Court on August 7, 2023, the anti-graft watchdog said its preliminary investigations established that Wambua – on March 5, 2023 – opened an account at Equity Bank that transacted or received the said amount in only four months.
According to the State agency, a total sum of Sh15,159,044.99 is still being held by the bank, which is suspected to have been acquired through illicit means.
The commission stated Wambua has deposited a total sum of Sh1,784,000 in three months, an amount beyond what he earns in a year at KeRRA.
The suspect also reportedly holds another account at Equity Bank that presently contains a suspicious amount totaling Sh264,707.36.
According to EACC, Wambua on June 16, 2023, transferred Sh5 million from this second account to a third held in the same bank.
“A preliminary analysis of the 3 Bank Accounts shows huge cash deposits made into the said Accounts by Daniel Munywoki Wambua and numerous third parties reasonably suspected to his corruption associates or proxies that he uses as conduits for proceed of crime,” the commission said.
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