A former company director charged with Sh357 million fraud has suffered a blow after a Nairobi court dismissed his application to be allowed to travel to India for business.
Honey Khatwani, who was in June charged with stealing
Sh357 million from Oki General Trading Limited, had sought to have his passport
released to enable him to travel to India.
The passport is being held as part of the conditions for his release on bond.
Milimani Senior Principal Magistrate Dolpina Alego on Monday, August 11, dismissed Khatwani’s application, with the court saying he had not provided sufficient justification for the release of his passport.
Khatwani had pleaded with the court to release his passport for the trip to India, saying he was required to travel to the Asian country on August 2, 2025.
He said the alleged 20-day trip was for essential and official business.
However, that bid was opposed by the prosecution.
Khatwani was on June 23, charged with stealing Sh357 million from Oki General Trading Limited, where he worked as a director.
He pleaded not guilty to the theft and was released on bond with tough conditions, including depositing his passport in court.
He, however, went back to court seeking to have the passport released for him to travel to India.
But the state opposed the application, arguing that the accused had provided no basis justifying the release of the passport as sought.
The Director of Public Prosecutions said Khatwani had not established any change of circumstances warranting the review of the bail terms as sought in his application.
“It is in the interest of justice and public interest that the prayers sought by the accused be declined,” the prosecution told the court.
The state argued that the accused had not provided evidence to show that he was required to travel to India on Saturday, August 2, 2025, for 20 days for essential and official business engagements.
Such an application, the DPP said, was like asking the court to review its conditions on bail and bond.
The prosecution said the accused was at the time of the plea already aware or should have been aware of his business travel needs.
“As the same was not raised during plea, it cannot be a new fact or a change in circumstances neither is there a suggestion of a new fact in support of the accused application for the review of the order to deposit his passport, as the order was made with his knowledge that his business would at times require such travels,” the prosecution said.
However, Khatwani, through lawyer Kennedy Echesa, maintained that his application was made in good faith.
“My client is a first offender and prosecution will suffer no prejudice if the accused's passport is released,” Echesa said.
Khatwani is an Indian national who lives in Kenya with his family and works as a director at Oki General Trading Limited in Baba Dogo within Ruaraka constituency.
The charge sheet shows that on diverse dates between January 2020 and June 2024, being a director at Oki General Trading Limited, he stole Sh356,711,174.4, the property of the firm, which came into his possession by virtue of his employment.
