On December 15, the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) was successful in convincing the High Court to freeze two properties belonging to Jane Waigwe Kimani, wife of former Murang’a Governor Mwangi Wa Iria, until a case to recover Ksh. 542,610,615 from her is heard and determined.
Jane fell under the radar of EACC after the anti-corruption agency established links between her Wa Iria and a company by the name Top Image Media Consultants. What caught the attention of the commission was how a company linked to the governor received a tender from the county despite several prequalified companies.
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After being paid for the tender, EACC noted that Top Image Media Consultants transferred some money to Wa Iria and his wife, with other sums transferred to Value View Limited, a company belonging to the ex-governor’s wife. The media company, through its director Jane Wanjiru Mbuthia also made payments to Wa Iria and his wife for expenses such as flights, loans and hotel accommodation, with other funds going to Mwangi Wa Iria Foundation. The foundation is co-owned by the ex-governor and his wife, meaning that the payment process was well-planned.
According to the EACC, the motive of the court case is to recover all amount involved in the tender.
“In the suit before Court, EACC is seeking to recover the entire contract sum of Kes. 542,610,615.15/= paid to Top Image Media Consultants Limited for having been paid out of an illegal contract believed to be tainted with procurement irregularities and conflict of interest,” said the commission.
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In court papers seen by The SharpDaily, the court established that Top Image Media Consultants was awarded all Media tenders by the county, despite there being other qualified companies, and also established there was a close relationship between the director of the company in question and the ex-governor.
“Top Image Media Consultants had been solely awarded media buying tenders worth Ksh.542,610,615 out of all companies prequalified between financial years 2013/2014 and 2016/2017,” reads court documents.
“The investigation revealed that the Director of Top Image Media Consultants Limited, Jane Wanjiru Mbuthia, was a close associate of the Governor of Murangá County. Consequently, the Governor and his wife benefitted directly from the contract amounts paid to Top Image Media Consultants Limited.”
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