Senior Counsel Ahmednasir Abdullahi has sparked fresh debate on corruption in public office following the recovery of millions of shillings from a senior Nairobi City County official, linking the incident to broader concerns about unexplained wealth in government.
This comes after Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) detectives recovered over Ksh65 million in cash from the residence and vehicle of Nairobi County Chief Officer for Urban Development and Planning, Patrick Analo Akivaga, during a raid in Syokimau.
The money, found in different currencies, was allegedly stashed in the house and a vehicle trunk, alongside documents linked to property transactions, land records, and electronic devices now under forensic review.
The commission has linked the seizure to ongoing investigations into allegations of bribery, abuse of office, conflict of interest, and accumulation of unexplained assets.
Officials also allege that the officer may have received over Ksh170 million through suspicious transactions over several financial years, a claim that is now central to the probe.
Reacting to the revelations, Ahmednasir questioned the scale of illicit wealth allegedly circulating within public institutions, suggesting that the case may reflect a much wider systemic problem beyond one individual.
"If a junior officer at City Hall kept Kshs 250 million under his mattress, how much money do think members of the executive, judiciary, parliament, governors and other government officials keep under their mattresses? My conservative estimates is Kshs 5.55 TRILLION."
He further questioned how much of the recovered cash may represent only a fraction of the suspect’s total wealth portfolio, raising concerns about investments allegedly linked to public office corruption.
"Of course, the Kshs 250 million found under his mattress was loose change. How much money do you think that junior official at City Hall invested in property and other investments portfolio?...Kshs 1 billion? 3 billion? 5 billion?"
The remarks have added political pressure to ongoing anti-corruption efforts, with renewed calls for lifestyle audits and deeper scrutiny of wealth accumulation among senior and junior public officers across national and county governments.
Investigations into the Nairobi City County official remain ongoing as authorities trace financial records and asset ownership patterns linked to the case.