Puzzle of City Hall worker earning Sh21,000 but owns 3-star hotel
The EACC is going after a City Hall worker on a Sh21,000-a-month salary who has vast wealth including a three-star hotel and several plots of land around the country.
The anti-corruption watchdog is going after a City Hall worker on a Sh21,000-a-month salary who has accumulated vast wealth, including a three-star hotel and several plots of land.
The Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) has obtained orders freezing assets worth millions of shillings linked to the 45-year-old procurement officer at the Nairobi City County.
Despite his monthly salary of Sh21,000 net, Mr Michael Auka, has 11 motor vehicles, nine plots of land in Kisumu, Siaya and Nairobi counties, as well as a three-star hotel, the Hydeout Riveira, on the Kisumu-Bondo road.
Investigations by EACC show that the man has received at least Sh40.8 million in bribes from several companies awarded tenders by the city county and it believes that it is these proceeds of corruption that Mr Auka has used to acquire the properties that have been traced to his wife and his associate companies, Hydeout Riveira Ltd and Hoho Farm.
Mr Auka is currently an officer in the department of Supply Chain Management at the Nairobi City County.
The three-star hotel, the Hydeout Riveira, on the Kisumu-Bondo road, owned by Michael Auka (inset).
In the period under investigation -- January 2014 to June 2022 -- he has earned a net salary amounting to Sh2.12 million, and the commission seeking to unearth how he was able to amass wealth that is not commensurate with his salary over the past eight years.
The EACC now wants Mr Auka to explain the source of his wealth before a court of law, failure to which he will be charged with economic crimes, abuse of office and he will forfeit all his assets to the state.
