Reprieve as Court of Appeal reverses High Court judgment that allowed Wilson Kanani access to suit property
19:02:2025: The Court of Appeal has issued conservatory orders restraining Wilson Nahashon Kanani and five others from disposing of suit properties in High Court Civil Case No. E022 of 2023 pending hearing and determination of an appeal by EACC.
The assets in question include four high-end motor vehicles, an apartment in Nairobi, a house in Busia County, and a piece of land in Naivasha.
The Commission filed the application for an injunction on November 15, 2024, together with an appeal against the November 7, 2024, High Court judgment dismissing its case for forfeiture of unexplained assets against Wilson Nashon Kanani.
Mr. Kanani, being a public officer employed by the Nairobi City County and earning a net monthly salary of Kes55,866.75 is suspected of having assets disproportionate to his known legitimate sources of income. EACC sought forfeiture of Kes643,213,688.12 to the government of Kenya against Mr. Kanani and associates for being unexplained.
The conservatory orders come after Mr. Kanani swiftly withdrew Kes48,003,527.47 that had been frozen in multiple bank accounts and earmarked for forfeiture following the High Court’s dismissal of the case against him.
The Commission’s investigations established that Mr. Kanani is a public officer employed at Nairobi City County Government as a Development Control Officer II, earning a monthly net salary of Kes55,866.75. He is also a co-director of Seventeen Forty-Nine Limited, trading as 1824, a popular bar and nightclub along Langata Road, Nairobi.
As a Development Control Officer II, investigations revealed, that his duties include regulation of outdoor advertisements and monitoring and surveillance of all outdoor advertisements. It was also discovered that Kanani abused the trust of his public office by receiving revenue meant for the Nairobi City County Government through bank accounts held by his spouse and private companies.
His bank statements showed that companies, including Live Ad Limited, Firm Bridge Limited, Ikon Prints Media Limited, Parrot Concepts Limited, Sign Tech Enterprises Limited, and Media-max Network Limited, credited huge sums of money into his bank accounts and the accounts of companies associated with him.
For instance, his private company, Willy Walla Limited, received a total of Kes78,880,000 million from Parrot Concepts Limited and Media Max Network Limited during the five-year investigations period. In the same period, Kanani also acquired an apartment in Nairobi valued at Kes6.5 million, a house in Busia County valued at Kes11.2 million, and land in Naivasha valued at Kes3.5 million.
The Court of Appeal will rule on EACC’s appeal against the High Court judgment dismissing its case for forfeiture of unexplained assets against Mr. Kanani on March 21, 2025.
