Susan Mboya files petition challenging EACC probe
Nairobi Governor Evans Kidero and his wife Dr Susan Mboya at a funeral in Asumbi on December 7, 2015. PHOTO | TOM OTIENO | NATION MEDIA GROUP
What you need to know:
Dr Mboya wants the investigation against her declared unconstitutional as it is tantamount to discrimination on the basis of sex and marital status.
She further argues that the EACC has no evidence implicating her in corruption.
Dr Mboya says the EACC based its investigation on the fact that it noted “tens of millions of shillings” were going through her account.
A landmark constitutional petition has been filed in the High Court seeking to protect the rights of married women where their spouses are under investigation for offences like corruption.
In the petition filed on Friday, Dr Susan Akello Mboya, the wife of Nairobi Governor Evans Kidero, is challenging the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC)’s decision to investigate her alongside her husband for alleged graft.
Dr Mboya wants the investigation against her declared unconstitutional as it is tantamount to discrimination on the basis of sex and marital status.
“The EACC victimised me for being the governor’s wife when it sought court orders to investigate my bank account at Commercial Bank of Africa in relation to an ongoing probe against Dr Kidero,” says Dr Mboya in her court papers.
She further argues that the EACC has no evidence implicating her in corruption and has subjected her to illegal and unnecessary investigations because she is married to Dr Kidero who, at one point, transferred Sh5 million to her account.
She says the money was for domestic expenses and a family holiday and for someone with her level of income, this should not amount to an economic crime.
Dr Mboya says the EACC based its investigation on the fact that it noted “tens of millions of shillings” were going through her account but did not bother to find out the sources of her income. She further adds she does not have access to her husband’s accounts.
FINANCIALLY INDEPENDENT
Dr Mboya describes herself as a financially independent woman who has built her wealth over the years through hard work and prudent investment in real estate and stocks.
She also says she earns millions of shillings annually in salaries and bonuses as a senior executive of a global multinational firm.
She also says she is a highly respected philanthropist who has worked tirelessly to mentor and uplift the well-being of thousands of girls in Africa by assisting them with their education.
“I am a victim of my sex and that is why I am being subjected to these illegal investigations. I am a suspect of economic crimes by the mere fact that I am the wife of Dr Kidero and I am a millionaire,” she says in her court papers.
Dr Mboya has named the EACC, Director of Public Prosecutions, Inspector-General of Police, Attorney-General and the chief magistrate’s court at Makadara as respondents in the petition filed through lawyer Tom Ojienda. EACC investigators Mulki Abdul Umar and Dennis Josek Mare are also named as respondents.
Dr Mboya also accuses the EACC of violating her right to privacy in seeking search warrants against her account at Commercial Bank of Africa yet she is not a public officer. She wants the search warrants quashed, saying they were obtained illegally.
The decision to investigate her, she further says, has adversely affected her reputation as a philanthropist.
“My being painted as a benefactor of acts of corruption and economic crimes violates my dignity contrary to the Constitution and further taints my otherwise unblemished reputation.
Donor funds that are assigned to the various charitable organisations that I run and manage are likely to be withdrawn as a result,” she says.
The petition will be heard next week.
