The High Court has dismissed Kiambu Governor Kimani Wamatangi’s bid to have an Ksh813.1 million asset recovery case filed against him by the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) struck out.
Justice Rose Ougo ruled on Thursday, October 1, that Wamatangi failed to prove the recovery case was barred by a separate petition challenging EACC’s investigations against him.
Wamatangi had argued that the case should not proceed because a separate petition he filed had already led the court to issue orders stopping some of the actions against him.
However, Justice Ougo said Wamatangi had not shown that the two cases involved the same issues, while EACC maintained that the earlier orders did not stop its asset recovery case.
The governor also argued that parliamentary privilege protected him from the allegations because some of the claims relate to his time as chairperson of the Senate Committee on Roads.
Justice Ougo rejected Wamatangi's argument, saying parliamentary privilege does not protect members from allegations of wrongdoing unrelated to their work in Parliament.
The case stems from an asset recovery suit filed by EACC on October 31, 2025, seeking to recover Ksh813.1 million from Wamatangi and 13 others, plus interest.
The case followed EACC investigations into road tenders awarded by Kenya National Highways Authority (KeNHA) and the Kenya Urban Roads Authority (KURA) between 2018 and 2022.
EACC alleged that Wamatangi influenced the tenders in favour of companies linked to him and hid his interest by transferring directorships to relatives and other associates.
According to EACC's court papers, the companies received Ksh726.48 million from KeNHA and KURA and another Ksh86.66 million from Kenya Rural Roads Authority (KeRRA).
In January 2026, the High Court issued interim orders freezing bank accounts and assets linked to Wamatangi, members of his family and other defendants.
The court orders were intended to prevent the alleged proceeds from being transferred or spent before the case was fully heard and determined.
Source: Kenyans.co.ke (Kenya)
