The Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) has secured far-reaching High Court orders freezing a massive portfolio of assets belonging to suspended Nairobi County Chief Officer for Urban Planning, Patrick Analoh Akivaga, and his wife, amid an intensifying probe into unexplained wealth and grand corruption.
In a conservatory ruling delivered by Justice Benjamin Musyoki, the court barred the couple from selling, transferring, leasing, or dealing with 19 prime parcels of land, 18 motor vehicles, and various bank funds for a period of six months to prevent the assets from being liquidated or hidden.
A Cross-County Civil Servant Syndicate
According to court filings, Akivaga is a senior executive within Governor Johnson Sakaja’s administration at City Hall, while his wife is employed by the Vihiga County Government. The anti-graft agency moved to court after establishing that the couple’s rapidly expanding real estate and automotive empire was starkly disproportionate to their known, legitimate civil service salaries.
The EACC has leveled heavy allegations against the duo, including systemic abuse of office, conflict of interest, bribery, and the illegal accumulation of wealth derived from the fraudulent issuance of physical development approvals in Nairobi.
“The respondents are hereby prohibited either through themselves or their agents, servants, or any other person from leasing, charging, alienating, wasting, transferring, disposing of, or in any other way dealing with all or any [of the properties],” Justice Musyoki ordered, additionally freezing government securities and bank balances held in Akivaga’s name.
The Sh65 Million Syokimau Mansion Raid
The freezing orders follow a dramatic, late-night raid conducted by EACC detectives at Akivaga’s palatial residence in Syokimau, Machakos County.
During the targeted operation, stunned investigators uncovered a massive stash of hard cash hidden within the house, seizing Sh51.3 million alongside US$113,000 (approximately Sh14 million), bringing the total cash haul from the residence to a staggering Sh65.3 million.
Governor Sakaja Swings the Axe at City Hall
The high-profile raid sent shockwaves through City Hall, prompting Nairobi Governor Johnson Sakaja to immediately suspend Akivaga from his powerful Urban Planning docket. Sakaja quickly appointed Dominic Mutegi to step into the role in an acting capacity.
In a bid to dismantle the wider architectural extortion ring suspected to be operating within the county, Governor Sakaja also took the drastic step of dissolving the entire Urban Planning Technical Committee. The county boss halted all ongoing development approvals and building permits across the city until the committee is fully overhauled and reconstituted, promising total state cooperation with the EACC.
Six Months of Strict Asset Preservation
In granting the injunction, Justice Musyoki noted that the EACC had comfortably met the threshold required under Section 56 of the Anti-Corruption and Economic Crimes Act (ACECA), which empowers the judiciary to protect assets suspected to be the proceeds of economic crimes.
The court ruled that the preservation orders will remain active for an initial period of 180 days (six months). This window allows detectives to finalize forensic lifestyle audits, compile cross-county banking data, and draft a formal asset forfeiture petition to recover the multi-million shilling estate back to the public registry.
