MP Rigathi Gachagua Moves to Court to Stop Arrest over Fraud Allegations
Mathira MP Rigathi Gachagua has moved to court to stop his ‘impending’ arrest over fraud allegations.
He is also seeking anticipatory bail in the event the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) and the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) press charges against him in connection with the ongoing probe into his bank accounts over claims of money laundering.
Gachagua insists that he genuinely obtained his money and there is no evidence to suggest that he engaged in corruption, adding that he is being persecuted for associating with Deputy President William Ruto.
“I have a genuine fear that I will soon be arrested and charged with offenses I do not know. My impending false arrest is based on my political standing. It will be malicious and devoid of merit to arrest me without any evidence linking me to any crime,” Gachagua says.
Through lawyer Simon Mburu, the politician says he has never been furnished with information about the investigations even after being summoned more than five times since his arrest by DCI officers in October last year.
Mburu adds that investigations into Gachagua’s bank accounts have found nothing to suggest that he illegally acquired money, adding that his bank transactions were legitimate and above board.
Detectives are investigating how Sh12.5 billion was wired to Gachagua’s bank accounts between 2013 and 2020. The MP is said to have used proxies to fraudulently win tenders in various county government, State agencies, and ministries through 22 companies with him as the sole beneficiary.
Gachagua is also being investigated by the Asset Recovery Agency (ARA), which filed a case to compel him to forfeit over Sh200 million in his bank accounts, believed to be proceeds of crime, corruption, and money laundering.
The first time MP was recently sued by retired civil servant John Ohas for allegedly grabbing a prime parcel of land near the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA) valued at over Sh1.5 billion.