High-Stakes Legal Battle Over Alleged Drug Empire

NAIROBI, KENYA – The Kenyan government is intensifying its legal battle against suspected drug trafficker Nancy Kigunzu Indoveria, popularly known as 'Mathe wa Ngara', with the Asset Recovery Agency (ARA) moving to permanently seize a portfolio of assets believed to be the proceeds of crime. The agency has filed an application in the High Court seeking the final forfeiture of three motor vehicles, a Juja apartment complex, and over nine parcels of land located in Kiambu, Vihiga, and Kakamega counties. This action marks a critical phase in a case that underscores Kenya's struggle against organized crime and the complex web of money laundering that sustains it.

Assets Frozen, Forfeiture Sought

The properties in question were frozen by a High Court order issued by Justice Benjamin Musyoki in November 2024, which prohibited Ms. Kigunzu and her associates from selling, transferring, or otherwise dealing with the assets for 90 days. That order also compelled her to surrender the logbooks for three vehicles to the ARA within seven days. The agency now wants to make this seizure permanent. According to court filings, the ARA alleges that Ms. Kigunzu acquired the assets through an illegitimate narcotics trade and registered them under the names of proxies to conceal their illicit origins. Some of the properties are reportedly registered in the names of her associates, identified as George Jumba Inguti and Scolastica Wambui Kibathi.

The targeted apartment block in Juja, Kiambu County, is named Georgina Apartments. It was during a raid on this property in August 2024 that authorities arrested several suspects and recovered six sacks of cannabis, leading to Ms. Kigunzu's subsequent arrest and charges. The ARA contends that Ms. Kigunzu “devised a complex criminal mechanism of acquiring, trafficking, distributing, and selling the drugs and registered the assets she acquired from the illicit trade through her close relative and mules.”

Parallel Criminal Proceedings and Broader Context

This asset seizure case is running concurrently with her criminal trial. On Wednesday, November 19, 2025, the High Court granted Ms. Kigunzu a KSh 500,000 bond in her ongoing narcotics trafficking case, overturning a lower court's 2024 decision to deny her bail. She faces charges of trafficking 18.3 kilograms of cannabis, valued at approximately KSh 6 million. Her legal troubles date back to August 2023, when she was first arrested in connection with a major drug bust in Nairobi's Ngara area, which also led to the seizure of KSh 13.4 million in cash. In April 2024, High Court Justice Esther Maina ordered this cash forfeited to the state, ruling that it was unequivocally the proceeds of crime after Ms. Kigunzu failed to provide a credible explanation for its source.

The 'Mathe wa Ngara' case has become a focal point in Kenya's renewed efforts to combat drug trafficking and money laundering, which are recognized as significant threats to national security. Kenya is considered a major transit hub for narcotics, and the proceeds from this illicit trade often fuel corruption and other criminal activities. The ARA's aggressive pursuit of forfeiture is a key strategy employed by the government to dismantle criminal enterprises by cutting off their financial lifelines. Legal experts note that such cases are often lengthy and complex, but their outcomes can set important precedents in the fight against organized crime in the East Africa region.

As of Friday, November 21, 2025, the High Court is yet to set a date for the final hearing on the forfeiture application. The rental income from the Juja apartments continues to be deposited into an ARA-controlled account at Kenya Commercial Bank, as per a previous court directive. The outcome of this case will be closely watched as a barometer of the state's capacity and resolve to tackle high-level organized crime through financial disruption.