A sitting Embu MCA is facing a legal battle over Sh111.5 million in county road contracts that the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) claims he obtained through companies linked to him and his family.
EACC has moved to the High Court seeking recovery of Sh111,577,188.75, six vehicles and a parcel of land from Mbeti North Ward representative Peter Murithi Nyaga, who also serves as the Embu County Assembly Majority Leader.
The commission says Nyaga used his position as a ward representative to secure 20 road construction and maintenance contracts from the Embu County government between the 2017/18 and 2023/24 financial years.
The contracts, according to EACC court documents, were awarded to five companies associated with Nyaga and his spouse during the period he was serving as an MCA.
The firms named in the case are Truco Enterprises Ltd, Peanco Ltd, Njewaco Ltd, Hiwco Ltd and Isaac & Timothy Company Ltd.
EACC says Nyaga was a director of Truco Enterprises and Isaac & Timothy Company. His spouse, meanwhile, was a director in three of the other companies together with her sister.
The anti-corruption agency claims Nyaga entered into the contracts while holding the MCA position and acting as an agent of the Embu County government.
According to the commission, this created a conflict of interest and amounted to abuse of office under Section 59 of the Public Procurement and Asset Disposal Act.
EACC also accuses the ward representative of failing to disclose his interest in the contracts and hiding his connection to the companies that received the tenders. The commission says this was contrary to Section 66(6) of the same law.
Records filed in court show that the five companies received a combined Sh111,577,188.75 from the county government for the 20 contracts.
EACC alleges that part of the money was later used to purchase property and vehicles. Among the assets it has targeted is a parcel of land in Mbeti, Kiamuringa, which was valued at Sh9.1 million in 2019.
The commission is also seeking control of five motor vehicles, a grader and a loader which it says were acquired using money linked to the disputed county contracts.
"Consequently, payments received pursuant to the subject contracts constituted proceeds of corruption or related to corruption, EACC says in its filings, arguing that the contracts were illegal and void from the outset.
Justice Joseph Kipkoech Biomdo has certified the case as urgent and issued orders preventing Nyaga, his agents and companies associated with him from selling, transferring or otherwise dealing with the property identified in the case.
The orders specifically stop Nyaga and his agents from alienating, wasting, transferring or disposing of Land Reference Number Mbeti/Kiamuringa/49 until the court hears and determines the application.
The court has also barred him from disposing of the five vehicles, grader and loader that EACC says were bought using proceeds from the contracts.
EACC wants the High Court to find that Nyaga had both direct and indirect private interests in the 20 road contracts and that he unlawfully acquired public property through the deals.
The commission is seeking an order requiring Nyaga to repay Sh111.5 million, which it considers money linked to the disputed contracts.
It is also asking the court to order companies connected to his spouse to surrender about Sh84 million that they allegedly received from the Embu County government.
The matter is scheduled to be heard on September 14.
Nyaga is serving his second term as the Mbeti North Ward representative after being re-elected in August 2022.
During his time in the county assembly, he has served in committees dealing with Infrastructure, Roads, Public Works, Housing and Energy.