Nancy Indoveria Kigunzu, widely known as Mathe Wa Ngara, has suffered a legal blow as the High Court ordered the forfeiture of Sh13.4 million seized from her home during a raid last year.
High Court Judge Esther Maina decreed that the money be surrendered to the state after Mathe Wa Ngara failed to account for its source or explain why it was stashed in sacks at her residence instead of being deposited in a bank.
“It is also not disputed that the police found three persons in the residence in circumstances that suggest that they were mules used in trafficking the illegal substance,” the judge remarked, referring to the discovery of cannabis sativa, a narcotic substance, at the same location.
Justice Maina stated her conviction that the cash was directly linked to criminal activity, despite the specific offense remaining undetermined.
“That an order be and is hereby issued declaring that the sum of Kenya Shillings 13, 474, 520 found in the Respondent’s residence but held at the Central Bank of Kenya is proceeds of crime and therefore liable for forfeiture to the Government of Kenya,” the judge pronounced.
By Vivian K.