Court unfreezes Sh1 billion Kisumu Urban Project account

A section of Kasagam secondary school buildings in Kisumu County under construction which is funded by the French government to uplift learning standards in the county. (Denish Ochieng, Standard)

The High Court has freed Sh1 billion Kisumu Urban Project’s (KUP) cash frozen by a magistrate's court on March 14.

The cash was part of the Sh4.5 billion French government funded project.

The magistrate’s court in Nairobi had frozen KUP's account in Diamond Trust Bank after the Director of Criminal Investigations launched investigations suspected fraud and money laundering.

At the time it was frozen, the account held Sh1 billion which the county government, in its appeal, said budgeted for contractors working on the project.

On Tuesday this week, the High Court put aside the order by the magistrate’s court, after the county successfully appealed it.

“This court finds merit in the applicant’s application as a result of which the order issued by the Magistrate’s court on March 14, 2019 is hereby revised and set aside,” ruled the  High Court.