The High Court has ordered a former Kilifi Principal Land Registrar and his associates to forfeit assets worth Sh426.8 million to the government. Justice Benjamin Musyoki at the Anti-Corruption and Economic Crimes Court issued the forfeiture orders in a judgment delivered on September 18, 2026. 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.
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. The assets also include properties in Nairobi, Mombasa and Kilifi counties, motor vehicles and cash recovered during a search operation. The Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) initiated the proceedings that led to the forfeiture orders.
According to the EACC, Nyakundi's gross monthly salary during the period ranged from Sh69,660 in 2013 to Sh115,630 in 2024. The commission said the defendants were able to satisfactorily explain the acquisition of assets valued at Sh58.17 million. However, the commission sought recovery of assets that it considered disproportionate to the defendants' known legitimate sources of income.
The EACC's investigations covered the period between January 2013 and March 2024, during which the defendants acquired assets cumulatively valued at more than Sh771 million. The commission found that the defendants had failed to satisfactorily explain how they acquired the assets. The court consequently declared specified funds, properties and motor vehicles to be unexplained assets and directed their forfeiture to the Government through EACC.
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, he said this did not protect the defendants from suffering forfeiture of the assets they were unable to explain. The judge said the aim of an order for forfeiture was to divest the property owners of that which did not apparently belong to them legally.
The court ordered the relevant banks and service providers to facilitate the forfeiture of credit balances in the affected accounts. The Chief Lands Registrar and relevant land registrars were 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. The forfeiture orders mark a major victory for the EACC in its efforts to combat corruption and recover unexplained wealth.
Key points
- The High Court has ordered a former Kilifi Principal Land Registrar and his associates to forfeit assets worth Sh426.8 million.
- 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.
- The forfeiture orders mark a major victory for the EACC in its efforts to combat corruption and recover unexplained wealth.
