Mathee wa Ngara ordered to return Sh13.4 million to government

When Nancy Indoveria Kigunzu alias Mathe wa Ngara appeared at JKIA Law Court over drug trafficking. [Edward Kiplimo, Standard]

However, Justice Maina said that she could not explain why she was holding so much money in her house.

According to the judge, the court was interested in knowing the source and legitimacy of her money and not about the criminal trial.

"First, as I have stated, it is not in dispute that this money which was all in cash was found kept in sacks in the residence of the respondent. Secondly, there is proof on a balance of probabilities that the same residence had some substance which when analysed by the government chemist turned out to be cannabis sativa," she said.

Justice Maina said the DCI also found three persons who were in her house and believed to be mules used in trafficking.

She was of the view that Mathe wa Ngara never gave any plausible explanation of how and why she had kept such huge amounts of money in sacks instead of having them in bank accounts.

According to her, there was evidence to show that the money was directly linked to criminal activity.

"The only reasonable conclusion that this court can draw is that the money was kept in that manner so as to avoid detection by the authorities. In the absence of proof that the money was from a legitimate source, I find and I do so declare that the money was proceeds of crime," said the Judge.