A popular establishment located along Lang’ata Road was raided by authorities on Wednesday, according to social media reports. Unidentified individuals were seen in videos seizing valuables from the business, known as 1824, as police officers stood guard.
The raid occurred despite 1824 operating as usual the previous night.
The joint’s owner, Wilson Kanani, had his assets frozen by a court in September. The freeze was initiated after the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) informed an anti-corruption court that Kanani, employed at City Hall, possessed assets totaling KES 643 million while earning a modest salary of KES 55,000.
Earlier this year, the EACC sought to freeze the KES 643 million linked to Kanani, presenting evidence that the City Hall staffer received bribes and kickbacks through his position, accumulating a substantial amount of money and assets, including high-end motor vehicles.
Lady Justice Esther Maina granted the freeze orders in 2022, allowing the EACC to conduct thorough investigations into the allegations against Kanani. Court documents revealed that despite earning a net monthly salary of KES 55,000, the accused funneled KES 506 million through bank accounts held in his name and those of his family members between January 2016 and October 2022.
The court documents detailed Kanani’s responsibilities at the county, which included the regulation of outdoor advertisements, monitoring and surveillance of all outdoor advertisements, and ensuring advertisers complied with approvals and payments.
“Although he earns a monthly net salary of KES 55,000/-, investigations have revealed that between January 2016 and October 2022, he received and channeled monies suspected to have been received through corruption amounting to KES 506,397,460.71/- through bank accounts in his name, the name of companies associated with him, his family members including his spouse and his minor children,” stated the court documents.
Apart from the freeze on his assets, other properties linked to Kanani include a house in Phenom Estate Langata, a residential house, and rental premises in Busia, an apartment in Langata NHC, and an apartment in Kahawa. All these assets are under suspicion of having been acquired through the proceeds of corruption.
As the raid on the popular joint unfolds, questions surrounding the connection between the ongoing police operation and the frozen assets of Wilson Kanani continue to loom. Authorities are expected to release more information as the investigation progresses.
