Milimani Law CourtsThe High Court has ordered a former Kilifi Principal Land Registrar and his associates to forfeit assets worth Sh426.8 million to the government after finding that they failed to satisfactorily explain how the wealth was acquired.
Justice Benjamin Musyoki at the Anti-Corruption and Economic Crimes Court issued the forfeiture orders in a judgment delivered on September 18, 2026, following proceedings initiated by the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC).
The assets linked to former land registrar Felix Mecha Nyakundi, his wife Stellah Nyaboke Otwori and companies associated with the family include cash held in bank and M-Pesa accounts.
It also includes properties in Nairobi, Mombasa and Kilifi counties, motor vehicles and cash recovered during a search operation.
The court found that the defendants had failed to satisfactorily account for the disproportion between the assets they acquired and their known legitimate sources of income.
EACC said its investigations covered the period between January 2013 and March 2024, during which the defendants acquired assets cumulatively valued at more than Sh771 million.
According to the commission, Nyakundi's gross monthly salary during the period ranged from Sh69,660 in 2013 to Sh115,630 in 2024.
EACC said the defendants were able to satisfactorily explain the acquisition of assets valued at Sh58.17 million.
The commission subsequently moved to court under Section 55 of the Anti-Corruption and Economic Crimes Act, seeking recovery of assets that it considered disproportionate to the defendants' known legitimate sources of income.
In his judgment, Justice Musyoki noted that while there was a possibility of abuse of office and corrupt conduct, the defendants had not been accused of committing a specific offence.
“However, this does not protect the defendants from suffering forfeiture of the assets they are unable to explain,” he said.
“The aim of an order for forfeiture is to divest the property owners of that which does not apparently belong to them legally."
The judge also explained that some of the funds that passed through the officials bank and M-Pesa accounts appeared to have been used to acquire or develop properties and establish and grow a business.
He therefore said it would not be fair to order the defendants to pay the unexplained transaction amounts in addition to forfeiting the assets that had been traced.
“I am minded to forfeit what has been traced rather than going for restitution,” the judge said.
The court consequently declared specified funds, properties and motor vehicles to be unexplained assets and directed their forfeiture to the Government through EACC.
The orders require the relevant banks and service providers to facilitate the forfeiture of credit balances in the affected accounts, while the Chief Lands Registrar and relevant land registrars are required to facilitate the transfer of the identified properties to the Government.
The Director General of the National Transport and Safety Authority was also directed to facilitate the forfeiture of the identified motor vehicles.
The defendants were further ordered to jointly and severally meet EACC's costs of the suit.
The commission welcomed the decision, describing it as a significant step towards recovering public resources.
