Gov Wa Iria wants court to lift orders in Sh 542 million tender case under investigation by EACC

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Murang'a county governor Mwangi wa Iria

Murang’a County Governor Mwangi wa Iria wants the court to suspend the orders barring him from transferring two of his two properties suspected to have been acquired through proceeds of crime.

The governor wants the court to issue interim orders suspending the decision made 22nd January 2021 pending the hearing and determination of this application.

Iria also seeks to set aside and discharge the interim conservatory orders made on 22 January 2021 and set down the application dated 21st January 2021 for hearing inter partes.

Justice James Wakiaga restrained Wa Iria, Top Image Media consultants Ltd and Value View Ltd from dealing with the said property pending investigations by the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC).

Wa Irira claims that the orders issued against them were procured by a misrepresentation of facts by the Ethics and Anti-Corruptuon commission purporting ownership of the properties subject to the order.

Read:Court freezes Mwangi wa Iria’s assets believed to be proceeds of crime

He claims he is not the owner of the said parcels of land and in this regard, nothing would have been easier than the commission to annex copies of title documents or official searches on the same, to the application presented to court, as evidence thereof. 

“The court was enjoined to confirm on a prima facie basis that the applicant is the registered owner of the suit properties before issuing the ex parte orders made in this matter and not rely on the mere averments of the applicant’s officers” says the governor. 

He claims that the court was misled on a material factual issues to issue the impugned ex parte orders and he is accessible to the records in the matter, statements of the parties and even official land registry records, would easily have confirmed the ownership details of the suit properties before presenting the present application to court and in the absence of any proof of my ownership thereof, then there is no basis in law for the making of the orders issued in January.

“Misrepresentation of material facts is a valid basis for the setting aside of ex parte orders such as in the present instance and the orders herein ought to be set aside and parties afforded forum and opportunity to make representations on the substantive matters arising in this proceedings,” adds Wa Iria. 

He further adds that no basis of the applicant’s involvement in the procurement of media services within the Muranga County which is subject of the purported investigations in the matter has been established in court and the applicant-respondent merely took the total expenditure by the county for the said services for the eight (8) year period since the inception of County Governments and which are funds paid to various media owners and establishments over the said period, and presented the same as supposedly lost funds whereas no basis in evidence on the same has been laid in their application or at all. 

According to Iria, procurement of media services is the function of the County’s procurement department and he has no role in the same and the present action against him is therefore misplaced and has no basis in law.

“Accordingly, I verily believe that the sum of approximately Sh 500 million pleaded by the anti graft agency and now published by the media for public consumption, is intended to merely sensationalise the matter and create an impression of massive irregularities, pilferation of county funds and corruption on my part. Indeed, this is the gross amount paid to media owners providing services to the County Government for the eight years since establishment of County Governments in 2013 and which therefore translates to an annual expenditure of Sh 60 million and a monthly expenditure of about Sh 4 million,” claims the lawmaker.