A city businesswoman, Rose Momanyi has been ordered by the High Court in Nairobi to forfeit her assets to the State over links to dealing in narcotics.
The businesswoman will now lose a fleet of five buses and saloon car plus Ksh1.7 million in her two bank accounts.
Justice Mumbi Ngugi in her ruling on Monday said the Assets Recovery Agency (ARA) had a watertight case adding that the woman was not able to account for her sources of wealth.
As such, the court treats the assets as proceeds of crime.
The Ksh1.7 million are at Sidian Bank and Diamond Trust Bank where she held two accounts.
Momanyi who resides in Kinoo was arrested at her home on June 14, 2019, where 796 grammes of heroin were recovered.
She was later charged with trafficking narcotics.
Two of her proxies who she has used in registering her motor vehicles were also unearthed it he course of the investigations. They were Thomas Kunduti and Margaret Mugo whose names appear on the ownership details of vehicles allegedly bought by Momanyi.
Justice Ngugi termed it a ploy citing that Mugo indicated that Momanyi sold her the vehicle for Ksh2.7 million but in her statement, she would indicate that she sold Mugo the vehicle for Ksh3.1 million.
“Perhaps Momanyi was attempting to use Thomas and Mugo to conceal her assets but given the obvious contradictions and disparities in their averments, it is clearly not a well-thought-out ploy,” Ngugi said.
ARA argued that Momanyi deposited the Sh1.7 million in her accounts in bits to avoid scrutiny.
However, Momanyi countered this claim citing that the money was from the sale of a plot in Kakamega County and a further Ksh500,000 which she had inherited from her late husband.
She also said that she has made a lot of money in her matatu business and sale of second-hand clothes.
All this, Justice Ngugi ruled, held no water because the accused failed to provide documents which show how much she money came from her businesses.
“She has, however, placed handwritten documents in which she avers that her matatus were often hired for long distance journeys. There is no way of authenticating these documents,” the judge said.
