Rigathi Gachagua, a Mathira MP, and his business partner are being asked to surrender Sh200 million, but the Assets Recovery Agency has rejected claims that money came from a contract they won seven years prior.
The agency claims that Ann Kimemia, doing business as Jenne Enterprises Limited, has made no assertions that are even somewhat supported by any evidence.
The two are the owners of the requested monies. On the grounds that it is the profits of crime, the agency wants the money forfeited to the state. It contends that Rigathi utilized Kimemia’s company and bank account as a conduit for money laundering.
“The allegation that the duo are doing legitimate business and the funds in issue are obtained from legitimate businesses is incorrect, deceitful and a ploy to disguise, conceal and hide the source of the said funds. It’s a classical scheme of money laundering,” ARA says.
In this case, Kimemia had filed an additional affidavit, to which the agency was replying. In describing the source of the funding, Kimemia asserted that on February 5, 2015, they were the successful bidder.
In response, the agency claims that she was not the recipient of the award notification dated February 5, 2015, but rather Machine Centre Limited and Wamunyoro Investment Limited.
Elizabeth Wachufa, Arthur Igeria, and Rigathi Gachagua are the firms’ directors.
According to ARA, there is zero proof that the aforementioned businesses carried out the alleged deal or were the source of the monies in question.
“Kimemia has not produced any evidence to show that she participated in the alleged tender indicated in the notification of award. She has also not produced any evidence demonstrating that the notification was ultimately awarded to her or the said companies and she participated in the alleged tender indicated in the notification award,” ARA says.
According to court documents, Kimemia has not produced Local Purchase Orders (LPOs) for the goods or services allegedly supplied. There are also no certificates showing completion of work or payments to demonstrate work done.
“She has not produced any payment evidence for any work done as per the alleged notification of award payments rendered. Nothing from her affidavit discloses the legitimacy of the funds in issue,” ARA says.
The agency has termed the assertions by the respondent “mere afterthoughts designed to derail the court from delivering its pending judgment”.
The last time the matter was in court, Justice Esther Maina took issue with Kimemia’s move to introduce additional evidence just as she was about to deliver judgment in the case.
The judge said the application by Kimemia was to scuttle the judgment she was scheduled to deliver on June 16.
“The application was made when there was already a judgment date. We ought not to have entertained it in the first place. The court only granted it in the interest of justice and given the weight of the issues raised,” the judge said.
In the case, the ARA is seeking forfeiture of Sh200 million from the duo on grounds it is proceeds of crime.
ARA has denied claims by Gachagua that the Sh200 million it wants forfeited to the government are repayments of loans advanced.
It says Gachagua and Kimemia of Jenne Enterprises Limited have failed to provide any evidence to show the link between the alleged ‘loans’ acquired or guaranteed and the funds in issue. Kimemia is Gachagua’s close business associate.
The agency submits that the alleged loans are just a decoy of money laundering to mislead the court.
It’s Rigathi’s case that between 2013 and 2020, he saved Sh200 million at Rafiki Microfinance Bank, which was invested in a fixed deposit account.
He says each time money was rolled over, after three months, a new entry of the same sum will be entered into the bank statement, thereby creating the misleading impression that the account was holding monies to the tune of Sh12 billion.
The savings, he argues, were essential to enabling corporate entities in which he was an investor and shareholder to access bank loans and guarantee those corporate entities in carrying out business activities.
He explains his source of wealth to be from loans, government tenders which he says were properly undertaken.
