EACC NOW WANTS OBADO’S CHILDREN TO SURRENDER LOGBOOKS OF LUXURIOUS VEHICLES.

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BY SAM ALFAN.

The anti-corruption agency now wants assets worth over Sh. 73.4 million belonging to Migori Governor Okoth Obado seized, fearing that he might dispose of them.

The targeted properties include two luxurious vehicles- Land Cruisers KCK 722B and KCK 997W- and a home which were frozen last year but Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission says it is apprehensive that Obado or his agents might sell or transfer them, defeating plans to forfeit them to the government.

“The Plaintiff is reasonably apprehensive that the Defendants/Respondents shall seek by themselves, their agents, servants and/or employees or any other person to sell, lease, charge, enter into sharing deals, waste, transfer or in any other way deal with the aforesaid illegally acquired moveable and immovable properties in order to frustrate and defeat any decree that may be passed against them,” EACC says in the petition filed before the anti-corruption court.

In the application, EACC wants Obado and his sons to deliver the vehicles logbooks, failure to which it should be allowed to seize and auction the vehicles and the proceeds be deposited in a joint income earning account.

The commission further wants the monthly rent of Sh143,000 derived from a posh house in Loresho, be deposited in a joint account.

The anti-graft body says Obado together with some of his relatives and proxies registered several companies for the sole purpose of procuring contracts from Migori county government, through fictitious or irregular contracts.

In return, the Migori county boss allegedly benefitted from the contracts through monies wired to his children for their school fees and upkeep in universities abroad, where they were studying. Some of the money was used to purchase the house and the vehicles.

EACC says investigations reveal that Sh38.9 million was allegedly wired to Obado’s children Scarlet Okoth, Jerry Zachary and Dan for their upkeep and tuition fees and a balance was used in acquiring the vehicles.

Another Sh34.5 million was traced to Kenya Power Pension Fund, which was used for the purchase of the house at Loresho.

Financial investigations of the bank statements of accounts operated by some 16 companies linked to Obado’s proxies, allegedly revealed a money laundering scheme with the intent to disguise the source of the money.

The companies were owned by close members associated with Obado and Jared Peter Kwaga’s relatives.

“The transactions showed huge cash withdrawals and several wire transfers from the respective bank accounts to the 6th Defendant (Kwaga) for onward transmission to the 1st Defendant indirectly through his children and for purchase of properties.

The firms include Misoft limited, Dankey press Limited, Atinus Services limited, Tarchdog printers limited, Mactebac Contractors, Selectrack consultants, Joyush Business limited, Swyfcon Engineering, Dolphus Software limited, Kajulu Business limited, Pesulus suppliers limited and Victorious investment limited.

“The transactions showed huge cash withdrawals and several wire transfers from the respective bank accounts to the 6th Defendant (Jared Oluoch Kwaga, a supplier to the county) for onward transmission to the Obado’s indirectly through his children and for purchase of properties,” adds EACC.

The firms are owned by the Kwaga’s family and are said to have received over Sh2 billion from the Migori county government.

“We are reasonably apprehensive that the Defendants/Respondents shall seek by themselves, their agents, servants and/or employees or any other person to sell, lease, charge, enter into sharing deals, waste, transfer or in any other way deal with the aforesaid illegally acquired moveable and immovable properties in order to frustrate and defeat any decree that may be passed against them,” says EACC lawyer Culent Simiyu.

The commission says that no prejudice will be occasioned to the Obado, his children and the firms if the injunction orders are granted pending determination of whether they legally acquired the said assets.

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