A junior employee attached to Kenya Rural Roads Authority (KeRRA) has refuted that Ksh21 million frozen in his bank accounts were proceeds of crime.
In court filings on Thursday, the suspect, Daniel Wambua, insisted that the money was meant as dowry for his fiancée.
He argued that the accounts were set up for the collection of the funds ahead of dowry negotiations and his friends, family and colleagues were invited to make contributions.
Through his lawyer, Danstan Omari, Wambua argued that the decision by the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) to freeze the account unfairly stalled his plans to pay dowry as per local traditions.
“The amount in the Daniel Wambua Dowry Payment Account was specifically for the purpose of collecting funds from friends and well-wishers for the purposes of dowry payment for my intended marriage to my wife of choice,” read the court papers in part.
On August 10, the anti-corruption agency froze the accounts after questioning the source of the money reportedly amassed in a period of four months.
The agency argued that the junior accountant collected only Ksh55,000 monthly salary, further compounding the mystery of the money.
“Preliminary investigation has established that he opened the account on March 15, 2023 and within a period of four months received Sh21,189,125 which we suspect are proceeds of corruption and not from his legitimate income,” read a suit filed by the Twalib Mbarak-led agency.
In court papers, EACC claimed that the funds had been syphoned from KeRRA accounts.
He was also accused of opening to additional accounts through which he transferred Ksh5 million and Ksh1.7 million respectively to spread out the money.
In his fillings, however, Wambua denied the claims insisting that he drew Ksh170,000 monthly salary.
He also revealed that once he asked his friends and colleagues to contribute to the kitty, he received overwhelming support.
