Anti-Corruption Court Freezes Assets of City Hall Employee Over Sh537 Million in Unexplained Wealth

The Anti-Corruption Court has frozen the assets of a City Hall employee, Michael Auka Ajwang, over Sh537 million in unexplained wealth. Ajwang is a junior procurement officer at City Hall who draws a monthly salary of Sh21,000.

The magistrate granted an application by the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) to freeze the assets, which include 11 vehicles, nine plots of land and a three-star hotel in Kisumu County. The assets are believed to have been acquired through corruption.

The EACC told the court that preliminary investigations revealed that Ajwang received Sh40.8 million in bribes from various companies that had won tenders from the Nairobi County government. The commission also said that some of the assets have been traced to Ajwang’s wife’s companies.

The court ordered that Ajwang, his agents or servants be restrained from transferring or disposing of the said properties in any manner whatsoever. The court also restrained Ajwang from recovering the Sh799,000 recovered by EACC detectives when they raided his house in 2022.

The EACC has said that it will continue to investigate cases of corruption and bring to book those who are found to have engaged in corrupt practices. The commission has also urged the public to report any cases of corruption to the EACC hotline.

The freezing of Ajwang’s assets is a major victory for the EACC and a sign that the government is serious about fighting corruption. The case is also a reminder to public officials that they will be held accountable for their actions.