Two people connected to the fraudulent purchase of 48.30 hectares of cemetery land in Athi River, Machakos County, have been found guilty of misappropriating public funds, and the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) has recovered Ksh.7 million from them.
Dr. Daniel Nguku and Janel Mulwa were revealed to be beneficiaries of the fraudulent land purchase in Athi River through an embezzlement scheme run by the former Nairobi City Council at an exorbitant cost of Ksh. 283.2 million.
"From the Ksh.283,200,000, Ksh.110,000,000 went to the purchase of the cemetery land, which was not fit for the intended purpose, while Ksh.173,000,000 was shared among government officials through 26 law firms and proxy companies," a source at EACC told Citizen Digital.
"Further, the land procured at Ksh.110,000,000 was valued by both EACC and the Ministry of Lands valuers at Ksh.30,000,000."
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Judge Esther Maina decided on Thursday, ordering the two parties to return the Ksh.7 million they had been given, pay the legal costs incurred by EACC, and pay a 12% annual interest rate going back to the year of the embezzlement, 2009.
Judge Maina's most recent ruling on the matter, delivered in November 2023, mandated that Joseph Owino Kojwando, a different beneficiary, reimburse the State Ksh. Ten million in addition to the lawsuit's costs.
The source noted, "EACC seeks to recover the entire Ksh.173,000,000 shared among the officials together with interest at court rates (12%) from the date of theft in 2009. "
