Four businessmen have been found guilty of defrauding the Judiciary of Sh80 million through a scheme involving fictitious suppliers, forged payment requests and funds diverted from public coffers through the government’s financial management system.
Chief Magistrate Roselyne Onganyo of the City Court ruled that the prosecution had proved its case against Henry Achoka, Duncan Bokela, Rueben Kirongothi and Martin Murathe over the fraudulent transactions, which were traced to September 2013. The four were accused of conspiring to obtain Sh80,013,302 from the Judiciary through payments to companies that had not supplied the goods or services claimed.
The case centred on fraudulent payment requests that were processed through the Integrated Financial Management Information System (IFMIS), prompting the National Treasury to transfer money to 11 companies.
Investigators found that the firms received amounts ranging from about Sh2.8 million to Sh12 million, despite questions over the legitimacy of the transactions and what the money was meant to pay for.
Among the companies that received the funds was Bonarza Agencies Ltd, linked to Achoka, which received Sh12 million. Coldax Agencies, associated with Bokela, received Sh2,853,148, while Meerkats (K) Ltd, linked to Kirongothi, was paid Sh6,661,790. Murathe’s company, Williams Logistics, received Sh3,910,722. Integrated Real Estate Services also received Sh7.59 million. The payments formed part of the wider transactions investigated by the authorities.
The fraud came to light after CFC Bank contacted the Judiciary’s then Finance Director, Benedict Omollo, seeking confirmation of whether certain transactions were genuine. Paul Rambaya, proprietor of Jepco Cleaning Services, which was contracted to clean Judiciary premises, had received an irregular payment of Sh5,719,466. He returned the money and reported the matter to Omollo, who subsequently alerted the Directorate of Criminal Investigations.
Investigations led by Chief Inspector Melly Kirwa established that 11 firms had received money from the National Treasury following a fraudulent letter requesting payment. The prosecution called 25 witnesses, including former Chief Registrar of the Judiciary Gladys Boss Shollei and Treasury official Kelvin Mutinda, who was involved in opening IFMIS accounts.
In her ruling, Onganyo found the four businessmen guilty of various counts involving theft, attempted theft and forgery, while all four were also found guilty of handling stolen property. The magistrate said the prosecution had successfully established the relevant charges against them.
However, the court cleared nine other accused persons, including five Judiciary employees: Ruth Wanjiku, Joab Ooko, Boru Guyo, Benjamin Mutuku and Benedict Abonyo. Traders Fredrick Tsofa, Ann Gathoni, Nancy Mumbi and Christine Wambugha were also acquitted after the court found that the prosecution had not presented sufficient evidence to secure their convictions.
The magistrate noted that there was no evidence of prior communication, whether through technology or other means, between the Judiciary officials and the businessmen who were convicted. The court found that they only came to know one another during the court proceedings, weakening the case against the officials.
The proceedings also took a different turn for two of the businessmen. Achoka stopped attending court on December 7, 2015, and the trial continued in his absence. He did not present a defence against the charges. Kirongothi, meanwhile, had fled to Rwanda, where he was arrested by Interpol. At the time of the judgment, he had not yet been handed over to local police.
The case exposed how fraudulent payment requests could result in millions of shillings being transferred to companies whose claims were in question, raising concerns about the safeguards surrounding public finance systems. The convictions marked a key development in a case that began with a bank seeking confirmation of suspicious transactions and ended with the court finding four businessmen criminally responsible.