A wealthy Malindi traffic police officer identified as Gabriel Mbithi Mulei is on his way to bankruptcy after he failed to give a satisfactory explanation in court on how he was able to amass wealth amounting to Kshs30 million when his salary was only Kshs20,000 as indicated in the court papers.
Mbithi gained the said wealth while serving as the Malindi traffic base commander where he had been deployed in February 2008.
According to a ruling by Justice Njoki Mwangi, Mbithi could not explain the source of the money that he used to acquire several plots and cars as well as Ksh10.5 million deposited in his four bank accounts.
He will now be required to surrender the millions in his accounts, 7 parcels of land worth 19.1 million, five vehicles and a motorcycle. The parcels of land are located in Malindi, Kwale Township and Ndithini/Mananja.
The high court allowed the Ethics and anti-corruption commission to recover all his properties believed to be proceeds of corruption.
“The properties the subject of this suit, as well as the deposits in his bank accounts, raise questions with respect to their sources. I am satisfied, on the evidence placed before me by EACC, that Mulei has unexplained assets,” ruled Justice Mwangi.
The judge also directed the police officer to pay the government Ksh10,536,199 which is the cumulative amount that he deposited in his bank accounts between June 18, 2008 and February 18, 2011. The payment is supposed to be made within a period of 30 days.
In his defense, the officer argued that he had been in active employment for over two decades in which he earned a decent salary. Aside from that he claimed that he had a side business, he had served in various places at the coast and was a member of the police Sacco. He also said that some of the parcels of lands were acquired through payment in installments, loans and money he got from shooting competitions. He was however unable to provide substantial evidence.
The court was however told that EACC received information that Mbithi would solicit bribes from road users in Malindi. A search of his house led to the retrieval of documents that revealed he had bank accounts in Barclays, Equity, Cooperative and Standard Chartered banks which were used to conceal his illicit wealth.
RELATED STORY:Fatal Ending For Police Officer Who Was Caught On Camera Drunk While In Uniform
