This archive report was first published on 28 July 2019.
On July 28, 2019, the government launched a crackdown on assets linked to the Kimwarer and Arror dams scandal. The move comes after charges were slapped on suspects in the scandal, with the state now eyeing their assets for possible seizure.
Prime parcels of land and properties in Karen, Runda, and Gigiri are among the assets that the government has mapped out for recovery if it succeeds in nailing the suspects. The properties are suspected to have been bought using proceeds from the dams.
Government agencies are also eyeing commercial buildings located in Machakos County's Mlolongo area and Narok, as well as fat bank accounts and high-end vehicles. The assets are believed to have been acquired in the last 12 months, during the same time that the dam scandal came to light and investigations opened.
Police have identified a 35-year-old Nairobi businessman, known as Ken, who is believed to be a proxy of some top government officials implicated in the scandal. Ken hails from Murang'a County and is said to have been used to buy and register properties for some of the suspects.
However, investigators were shocked to learn that the only existing business linked to Ken was a run-down posho mill, sharply contrasting the description given to the police by close associates of the man. 'We want the man arrested so that he can tell us how he acquired the properties,' said an investigator at the DCI headquarters.
Ken's case mirrors the case of the Ngirita family of Naivasha, whose social background failed to match the Sh361 million they are said to have received from NYS. Top officials at the National Treasury, including CS Henry Rotich and his Principal Secretary Kamau Thugge, were arrested and charged over the dam scandal last week.
