EACC Secures Court Orders Preserving KSh111.5m Assets of Embu MCA

The Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) obtained High Court orders on October 29, 2026 that preserve a parcel of land and six motor vehicles linked to a KSh111.5 million recovery case against Peter Muriithi Nyaga, the Member of County Assembly for Mbeti North Ward in Embu County, in a ruling by Justice Joseph Kipkoech Biomdo.

The judgment bars Nyaga and the co-defendants from selling, transferring, charging or otherwise disposing of the properties while the recovery suit is pending, and directs the Land Registrar and the National Transport and Safety Authority to place absolute restrictions and caveats on the land title and vehicle logbooks.

The assets subject to the order include land parcel Mbeti/Kiamuringa/49, registered to Isaac & Timothy Company Ltd at KSh9 million on June 10, 2019, and six vehicles bearing registration numbers KHMA 624H, KDD 932H, KDC 857D, KDL 451F, KCQ 172W and ZF-9309. The court permitted limited operational use of the vehicles under strict supervision to avoid deterioration.

Defendants must install functional GPS tracking devices on all six vehicles at their own expense, maintain fully paid comprehensive insurance policies, and give the EACC real-time access to the tracking data. Copies of the insurance policies and payment receipts are to be filed in court within 30 days.

The order also requires bi-monthly physical verification of the vehicles by representatives of the commission and the defendants, and quarterly sworn reports detailing each vehicle’s operational status, location, use in active contracts and maintenance records. Any breach would trigger immediate grounding of the vehicles by the EACC.

The EACC filed the suit on August 28, 2026 against Nyaga and six companies – Truco Enterprises Ltd, Peanco Ltd, Njewaco Ltd, Hasoco Ltd, Hiwco Ltd and Isaac & Timothy Company Ltd – alleging that KSh111,577,188.75 from twenty road-maintenance contracts awarded by the Embu County Government between the 2017/2018 and 2023/2024 financial years was used to acquire the disputed assets.

Nyaga and the other defendants opposed the application, contending that the MCA does not award or influence procurement contracts, that the companies are separate legal entities, and that the assets were lawfully purchased with income from competitively awarded contracts and a credit facility from Equity Bank. They also noted that the transactions were not flagged as suspicious by financial institutions or the Financial Reporting Centre.

Justice Biomdo concluded that the EACC had established a prima facie case justifying preservation and identified issues for trial, including whether Nyaga used his position on influential county-assembly committees to secure tenders for family-controlled companies and whether the corporate veil should be lifted.

The judge warned that disposal of the assets would leave the commission without recoverable property should the main suit succeed, and therefore the preservation orders remain in force pending the outcome of the recovery proceedings.