The Court of Appeal has issued conservatory orders restraining an employee of Nairobi County Wilson Nahashon Kanani and his wife from disposing of unexplained assets worth Sh643.2 million.

Judges Gatembu Kairu, Fred Ochieng and Aggrey Michelle allowed the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) request to preserve the multi-million assets of Kanani and his wife Regina Munyina Mutinda pending the hearing and determination of an appeal.

“We are persuaded that the applicant (EACC) has met the threshold for the grant of an injunction pending appeal,” the judges ruled.

The judges have barred Kanani, his wife, and their four companies from dealing with or disposing of assets, including Sh898,000 recovered from his house, over Sh47 million held in 12 bank accounts, four high-end motor vehicles, an apartment in Nairobi, a house in Busia County, and a plot of land in Naivasha among others.

Kanani, a public officer employed by the Nairobi City County with a net monthly salary of Sh55,866.75 is suspected of having assets disproportionate to his known legitimate income.

The ruling by the three-judge bench followed an appeal by the EACC which sought to block Kanani, his wife, and their firms after the High Court on November 7, 2024, declined its plea for the forfeiture of properties for being allegedly acquired corruptly.

The EACC sought the forfeiture of Sh 643,213,688.12 in unexplained assets from Kanani and his associates.

The conservatory orders also came after Kanani quickly withdrew Sh 48,003,527.47 frozen in multiple bank accounts which were earmarked for forfeiture following the High Court’s dismissal of the case.

The application for interim orders before the Court of Appeal was supported by an affidavit from Abdulhamid Farooq Low, Deputy Director of the EACC who outlined the ongoing investigations into Kanani and his associates’acquisition of unexplained wealth.