A company director for OKI General Trading Limited has been charged with defrauding his own firm of over Ksh 356 million.
On Monday,Director Honey Khatwania appeared before Milimani Principal Magistrate Dolphina Alego in Nairobi, being charged with stealing $2,786,174.40 (approximately Ksh. 356,711,174.40).
According to Global Trade Data NBD Data, OKI General Trading Kenya Ltd (a company that was included in the global trader database of NBD Trade Data on 2021-06-17), it is the first time for the company to appear in Kenyan customs.
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. The offence alleged came up between January 1, 2020, and June 30, 2024, at Barbado within Nairobi County.
Seeking a reduced bail term, Khatwani said to the court he was not at risk of escaping the allegation as he had his family residing in Kenya.
Kennedy Echesa, his lawyer, argued that Honey Khatwani should be released and the bond should be on favourable terms, reminding the court that he was innocent antill 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 prosecutor, on the other hand, warned that there could be a flight risk by Khatwani as the amount of money involved was high, urging the court to consider the magnitude of the alleged fraud. This was followed by their request to the court for Khatwani to surrender his travel documents.
Khatwani’s legal team proved that he had been released for a while on a Ksh. 200,000 cash bail upon arrest, hence sought the court to use the same bond terms in the proceedings.
He went ahead to inform the court that he had health issues and sought to be taken to Avenue Hospital for medical attention. A ruling is expected to be delivered on the bail application on Tuesday.
Kenya has witnessed several high-profile cases where CEOs and top executives have been implicated in theft, fraud, and embezzlement from the very institutions they were entrusted to lead. Among the most notable is Yagnesh Devani of Triton Petroleum, who was extradited from the UK in 2024 after being on the run for 16 years for defrauding Kenya Commercial Bank of KSh 7.6 billion in the infamous jet fuel scandal.
Similarly, Davy Kiprotich Koech, the former head of KEMRI, was found guilty of fraudulently acquiring KSh 19.3 million in public funds, although he was later pardoned. Other significant cases include Brand Kenya’s Mary Luseka, accused of inflating tenders and misappropriating funds; the Karanja family of Keroche Breweries, who were arrested for alleged tax evasion amounting to KSh 14 billion; and Peter Koria of Bomas of Kenya, who faced procurement fraud charges in 2024. These instances reflect a concerning trend of senior leaders abusing power for personal gain.
In the private sector, cases like the insider fraud at Craft Silicon in 2018, where a senior developer siphoned off millions through M-Pesa by installing malicious software, highlight how even tech-driven companies are vulnerable to internal theft.
Other notable examples include Kenya Power executives charged with transformer procurement fraud, and Mumias Sugar Company, where an audit uncovered financial losses of over KSh 1 billion due to executive mismanagement. While some suspects have faced charges, others have either contested the allegations or remain under investigation, reflecting broader challenges in enforcement and accountability.
