A company director was Monday charged with defrauding his own firm of over Sh356 million .
Honey Khatwani, a director at OKI General Trading Limited, appeared before Milimani Principal Magistrate Dolphina Alego in Nairobi on Monday, where he was charged with stealing $2,786,174.40 (approximately Sh356,711,174.40).
The alleged offence occurred between January 1, 2020, and June 30, 2024, at Barbado within Nairobi County.
The court heard that the funds belonged to OKI General Trading Limited and were allegedly stolen by Khatwani in his capacity as a company director.
He pleaded for lenient bail terms.
Khatwani told the court he is not a flight risk and has a family residing in Kenya.
Through his lawyer, Kennedy Echesa, he argued that he should be released on favourable bond terms, noting that he is presumed innocent until proven guilty.
“The accused is innocent until proven otherwise, and we urge the court to consider this while determining the bond terms,” said Echesa.
The prosecution, however, urged the court to take into account the magnitude of the alleged fraud, warning that Khatwani could pose a flight risk due to the amount of money involved.
They also requested the court to order the surrender of his travel documents.
Khatwani’s legal team countered by noting that he had previously been released on a Sh200,000 cash bail upon arrest and asked the court to maintain the same bond terms in the current proceedings.
Additionally, the accused informed the court that he was unwell and requested to be taken to Avenue Hospital for medical attention.
The magistrate will deliver a ruling on the bail application on Tuesday June 24.
Meanwhile, the High Court in Migori enhanced a sentence from 20 years imprisonment to life imprisonment for a man who defiled a nine-year-old girl.
Paul Otieno Ojwang had been convicted and sentenced to serve 20 years’ imprisonment by the trial court.
He was found guilty of defiling a nine-year-old girl in October 2022 at Ombo area in Migori County.
He was dissatisfied with the sentence, which, according to him, was harsh.
He moved to the Migori High Court to challenge the magistrate’s sentence, which was opposed by the Director of Public Prosecution.
The DPP, through Senior Assistant Director of Public Prosecution, Ikol Esaba, opposed the appeal and argued that the sentence was lenient given the age of the minor.
She urged the court to enhance the sentence from 20 years to life imprisonment.
The High Court agreed with the prosecution’s arguments and enhanced the sentence to life imprisonment.
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