The EACC has taken by surprise on the assets of Migori governor Okoth Obado’s associates suspected to have been acquired fraudulently.
EACC now wants seven of the governor’s alleged proxies and 14 of their firms that benefited from multi-billion contracts compelled to refund Sh2 billion allegedly looted from the Migori county government.
In an intriguing court battle, EACC says Obado was a beneficiary of the fictitious contracts through millions wired to his three children, most of them living abroad.
On Tuesday, the High Court issued orders barring the owners from selling or transferring 65 properties — including maissionettes, apartments and land — all valued at over Sh382 million.
The High Court restrained the owners and interested parties or their agents from “transferring, charging, disposing, wasting or any other way alienating the properties.”
Previously seen as toothless bulldog but now determined to bite the big fish, the EACC says the suspects should be forced to refund Sh1,971,179,180 obtained from Migori county and forfeit to the government the 65 properties frozen by the court.
EACC also wants the Court to order that interest at court rates be paid on the sum from the date of filing the suit until payment in full.
EACC has named Peter Odoyo Oluoch Kwaga, a close Obado associate, as the architect of the theft who roped in six members of his family including his mother.
Of the 65 properties the High Court put a caveat on, 42 belong to Kwaga excluding 17 he transferred after sleuths raided his home early this year.
The properties include four maissionettes in Nairobi, an apartment in Nairobi and several tracks of land mostly in Migori town.
“The Commission has established that in just four days after it carried out search on the 1st defendant’s [Kwaga] residence, he transferred 17 parcels out of the 59 parcels registered in his name to the interested parties herein,” EACC says.
The parcels were transferred to Yuda Otago, Clement Nguka, Julita Atieno Okoko, Dora Atieno Owino and Tabitha Achieng Odhiambo.
“All the aforesaid parcels were transferred in a single day, 19 March 2018. This is clear indication that the 1st defendant is in haste to defeat the efforts by the Commission to recover the said properties which the Commission has demonstrated were acquired from the illicit wealth obtained from the county,” EACC argues.
The Commission claims the seven defendants used monies corruptly obtained from the county to acquire the properties and substantially developed some in a bid to conceal the proceeds of the fictitious contracts.
EACC valuers put the properties at over Sh382,395,000.
“To further conceal the monies corruptly acquired from the county government of Migori through fictitious tenders, the defendant [Kwaga] transferred Sh55,224,977.40 to various offshore financial institutions in China and HongKong,” EACC says in court documents.
The Migori case rekindles memories of the Ngirita family of Naivasha who were charged in the Sh8 billion National Youth Service theft.
Just like in the Ngirita’s case where three siblings and their mother are facing charges, in Migori, EACC wants Kwaga, his mother and two brothers forced to refund the alleged loot.
The brothers are Joram Opala Otieno and Patroba Ochanda Otieno, and family matriacrh Penina Auma Otago.
Other suspects are Christine Akinyi and Carolyne Anyango Ochola, a sister in law to Kwaga.
According to the EACC, the seven family members registered 16 firms which were special purpose vehicles for fraudulently securing tenders from the county government of Migori.
Fourteen of the firms according to court documents were registered between 2014 and 2016 immediately after the first county governments were were born.
Two of the firms, Microsoft Limited and Duotech Technology, were
incorporated in 2009 and 2010 respectively but remained largely dormant before 2013.
“Effectively, all the companies had no commercial presence prior to the establishment of the County government of Migori,” EACC concluded in its application for injunction.
In an interesting twist, EACC says Auma’s firms — Kajulu Business and Pesulas Supplies — purportedly rendered high value specialized services which the commission established she has no knowledge of or expertise in.
Detectives also established that Ochanda who is a director of Swyfcon Engineering Ltd and Dolphus Software Ltd was an employee of the Migori county government, working as a pharmacist at Uriri sub county hospital.
The law prohibits government employees from entering into procurement contracts with the same entity they work for.
But even puzzling to detectives was that the firms received huge payments from the county government before they were incorporated.”In a span of slightly over 3 years, 2013-2017, these newly registered companies transacted a total of Sh1,971,179,180.20 exclusively received from the county government of Migori which amount was glaringly disproportionate to their known legitimate sources of income,” EACC told the High Court.
The defendants according to EACC have been unable to explain their source of wealth.
The commission led by Eliud Wabukala says Obado benefited from the fictitious contracts to the tune of Sh38,949,376.
This was through money wired to his children from the defendants in various accounts held at banks in Australia and Scotland.
The governor’s beneficial children are named as Dan Ochola Okoth, Jerry Zachary Okoth and Susan Scarlet Okoth