The High Court, Anti-Corruption Division, has today, February 7, 2024, declined to discharge the interim orders of September 13, 2023 that prohibited Wilson Nahashon Kanani, a public officer employed by the Nairobi City County Government from dealing with his properties including Sh48 million held in various bank accounts, and several vehicles.
Lady Justice E. N. Maina issued the September 2023 orders pending the hearing of a case that had been filed by the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) seeking forfeiture of Mr. Kanani’s Sh643.2 million worth of assets whose source he could not explain.
Through an application of September 25, 2023, Mr. Kanani had, through his lawyers sought to discharge the interim prohibitory orders of September 13, 2023. This application was heard orally before Justice Nixon Sifuna. Delivering the ruling today, Justice Sifuna dismissed the respondent’s application and declined to discharge the interim orders. The orders of September 13, 2023 by Justice Maina, the Court ruled, shall continue to abide to the logical conclusion of the matter.
EACC filed the case, ACEC OS 022 of 2023, at the High Court following investigations into an allegation that Mr. Kanani, a Development Control Officer II at Urban Planning Department of Nairobi City County Government, earning a monthly gross salary of Sh88, 530 had accumulated assets whose value was above his known legitimate sources of income.
Investigations established that Mr. Kanani was indeed an employee of the Nairobi City County Government in the capacity of Development Control Officer II and that he earned a monthly net of Sh55, 866. Mr. Kanani, investigations further divulged, was a co-director of Seventeen Forty Nine Limited, one of the companies that the Commission also investigated pursuant to the allegations received. The said company is trading as 1824, a popular bar and nightclub along Langata Road, Nairobi.
Mr. Kanani’s duties as a Development Control Officer II include regulation of outdoor advertisement, monitoring and surveillance of all outdoor advertisement and calling advertisers to comply with approvals and payments for advertisements. The Commission found that Wilson Kanani abused the position of trust he is occupying at the Nairobi City County Government by receiving revenue meant for the Nairobi City County Government through bank accounts held by his private companies and spouse.
His bank statements revealed that companies associated with him credited huge sums of money into his accounts including; Live ad Limited; Firm Bridge Limited; Ikon prints Media Limited; Parrot Concepts Limited; De-signtech Enterprises Limited, and; Media-max Network Limited.
Parrot Concepts Limited, investigations revealed, paid into his private company, Willy Walla Ltd, a total of Sh55 million while Media Max Network Limited paid to the same company a total of Sh23.9 million in the five year period under investigations.
The assets, which were acquired in a span of five years, include four high-end motor vehicles including; Toyota Land Cruiser V8; Mercedes Benz E 300; Mercedes Benz E350; Toyota Alphard; An apartment in Nairobi valued at Sh6.5 Million; a house in Busia County valued at Sh11.2 Million and; Land in Naivasha valued at Sh3.5 Million. Cash money amounting to Sh898, 000 that was recovered in his premises by investigators during a search.
Investigations also revealed that Mr. Kanani had been previously convicted of a corruption offence involving soliciting for bribes while employed under the same capacity by the defunct City Council of Nairobi
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