On 20 November 2018, the High Court declined to hand the state a Jeep Cherokee owned by Charity Wangui, the mother of Ben Gethi, after finding that investigators had not proved it was purchased with money stolen from the National Youth Service.
Justice Hedwig Ong'udi dismissed the Asset Recovery Authority’s forfeiture application, which had sought to have the Sh7 million vehicle declared proceeds of crime and transferred to the state.
The court accepted Wangui’s position that the funds used to buy the Jeep did not come from the NYS. As a result, the vehicle, which had already been seized by the Asset Recovery Authority, is to be returned to her.
The ruling came against the backdrop of the wider 2017 NYS scandal, in which authorities pursued assets they believed were linked to the Sh1.6 billion theft probe.
Related: Ben Gethi's mother loses bid to repossess Jeep seized in Sh1.6 billion NYS scam probe
