A director of a Nairobi-based trading company has been charged with defrauding his own firm of over KES 356 million, in a case that has raised serious concerns about internal corporate fraud.
Appearing before Milimani Principal Magistrate Dolphina Alego on Monday, Honey Khatwani, a director at OKI General Trading Limited, was formally charged with stealing $2,786,174.40, an amount equivalent to KES 356,711,174.40.
The prosecution told the court that the alleged theft took place between January 1, 2020, and June 30, 2024, at Barbado in Nairobi County, where Khatwani is accused of siphoning company funds while serving as a Director.
Khatwani, through his lawyer Kennedy Echesa, pleaded for lenient bond terms, arguing that he was not a flight risk and had deep family ties in Kenya.
“The accused is innocent until proven otherwise, and we urge the court to consider this while determining the bond terms,” Echesa said.
The prosecution, however, opposed the request for leniency, citing the magnitude of the alleged fraud and arguing that the accused could abscond given the amount of money involved. They urged the court to order the surrender of Khatwani’s travel documents as a precaution.
Khatwani’s defence team responded by noting that their client had already been released on a KES 200,000 cash bail upon arrest and asked the court to uphold the same bond terms in the ongoing proceedings.
Additionally, Khatwani told the court he was unwell and requested to be allowed to seek medical treatment at Avenue Hospital.
Magistrate Alego said she will deliver her ruling on the bail application on Tuesday today.
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