Editor's Review

Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua's Ksh 200 million was frozen in 2020 over alleged embezzlement of public funds.

Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua now says that he has received more than 200 harambee invitations after the state returned his Sh 200 million.

Speaking on Thursday, February 2, during the closing ceremony of the Senate meeting in Mombasa, Gachagua stated that everybody is planning for the money.

“This morning I have received more than 200 invitations to attend harambees. The Uhuru government had taken my money and it was released yesterday. Now everyone is planning for that money, kila mtu anannialika because it sounds like a lot of money,” Gachagua stated.

The court of appeal on Wednesday vacated orders of the High court that had declared the funds to be proceeds of crime.
File image of Rigathi Gachagua

This is after Gachagua through his counsel Kioko Kilukumi and the Asset Recovery Agency reached an agreement to settle the matter after the emergence of new evidence proving the funds were not proceeds of corruption.

Earlier investigations conducted by the Assets Recovery Agency (ARA) indicated that Gachagua and Jenne Enterprises Limited were involved in a suspected complex money laundering scheme.
The funds were held at Rafiki Microfinance Bank in three accounts registered in the DP's name: one with Sh165 million, another with Sh.773,228 and another with Sh35 million.

His accounts were frozen in late 2020, following the conclusion of an investigation by detectives from the DCI's Serious Crimes Investigations Unit into Gachagua's alleged embezzlement of public funds.