Win for Sonko as High Court unfreezes Ksh.574M in his bank accounts

The High Court has dismissed a case filed by the Asset Recovery Agency (ARA) seeking to have millions of shillings in the bank accounts of former Nairobi Governor Mike Mbuvi Sonko declared proceeds of crime and forfeited to the State.

In a judgment delivered by Justice Nixon Sifuna, the court ruled that the Agency failed to provide sufficient evidence linking the funds to any criminal activity.

The judge faulted the investigators for failing to verify the properties Sonko allegedly sold, the purchase prices, and the identities of the alleged buyers.

He further noted that the Agency did not present statements from the buyers, which would have been critical to prove its case.

“I am of the view that suspicion has to be founded and reasonable. It cannot just be from without. Where the Agency’s action arises from a complaint, the complaint should be specified and explained, even if the complainant’s name is not disclosed,” Justice Sifuna stated.

The court also criticized ARA for relying only on bank statements beginning in August 2017, when Sonko became governor, and failing to provide records from before that period which could have allowed for a fair comparison.

“Being a public institution, the ARA is under a public duty to provide not only the evidence that incriminates a suspect but also that which exculpates him if available. Unfortunately, this was not the case here,” the judge observed.

Justice Sifuna concluded that the evidence on record was insufficient to prove that the funds were proceeds of crime.

He dismissed the case with costs and ordered that the money preserved under an interlocutory order issued in February 2020 be released to Sonko forthwith, unless otherwise lawfully held.