Gabriel Mbiti Mulei: Traffic Police Officer Worth Over 30 Million, With 20K Salary

After the High Court authorized the anti-graft agency to collect the properties, a wealthy traffic police officer who was unable to explain how he came into his enormous riches would lose everything to the government.

Chief Inspector Gabriel Mbiti Mulei is expected to hand over his four bank accounts’ worth of Sh10.5 million, seven plots of land worth Sh19.4 million, five cars, and one motorcycle.

The properties are unexplained assets, according to Justice Njoki Mwangi’s decision on a forfeiture lawsuit brought by the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission in 2015 on the grounds that the officer was suspected of engaging in corruption.

She required him to pay Sh10,536,199 to the government, which represents the total amount of deposits he made between June 18, 2008 and June 17, 2009.

“It is my finding that Mulei did not offer any explanation as to why deposits amounting to Sh10,536,199 were made to his various bank accounts, excluding his salary account,” said the judge.

The payment must be made in 30 days. The land plots are located in Ndithini/Mananja, Kwale Township, and Malindi.

According to court documents, he made about Sh20,000 each month after taxes.

According to the judge, he was unable to demonstrate the source of the money used to buy the plots and the vehicles.

The Malindi traffic base commander’s assets, which were out of proportion to his known legitimate source of income, were deemed to have been acquired without explanation, according to the court.

“The properties the subject of this suit, as well as the deposits in his bank accounts, raise questions with respect to their sources. I am satisfied, on the evidence placed before me by EACC, that Mulei has unexplained assets,” said Justice Mwangi.

She said the officer had the evidential burden to offer a satisfactory explanation on the legitimate acquisition of the assets. “When the burden of proof shifted to him, he made a feeble attempt to respond to the claims by EACC by stating that he had been in active employment for two decades and had been earning a decent salary,” said the judge.

The officer had also stated that he had engaged in “side business”, which had added to his income. In addition, he said he had served in different places in Coast and that he was a member of the police sacco.

He had denied owning any land in Kwale or Malindi but admitted to the ownership of the plots in Ndithini/Mananja, which he stated were obtained through payment by installments, funds from shooting competitions and loans.

He, however, said he could not trace the records for the purchase of the said parcels of land.

EACC claimed that between June 18, 2008 and February 18, 2011, the officer had made cash and cheque deposits totaling Sh10.5 million in his bank accounts, excluding his salary account. Bank statements and the officer’s transactions were produced in court.

The court heard that EACC received information to the effect that Mulei was soliciting for bribes from road users in Malindi while serving as the traffic base commander. He was deployed to Malindi in February 2008.

EACC investigator Mutembei Nyagah said a search at Mulei’s house resulted in the retrieval of documents that established he had accounts at Barclays, Equity, Cooperative and Standard Chartered banks.

Mr Nyagah said the accounts were reasonably suspected to have been used as “conduits” for acquisition and concealment of illicit wealth.

It was also stated that Mulei’s salary account at Barclays Bank Nairobi demonstrated that in the entire period of service as the base commander, he had received several millions of shillings over his salary.